You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Additional Subscription Benefits

Need help with your subscription?

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in!

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary.

On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

Published - August 24, 2026 01:25 am IST - KOCHI

People buying dresses for Onam at Broadway in Kochi on August 23. | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

All roads led to Broadway on Sunday (August 23) as the market swelled with hundreds of shoppers and sales picked up sharply.

There was renewed enthusiasm among shoppers and sellers as business picked up after a sluggish few days. Rain and low customer turnout had dampened sales this season, said street vendors, who were among the worst affected.

Onam dresses for children being displayed for sale at Broadway in the city on August 23. | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

Holding a glass of piping-hot black tea and calling out at the top of his voice to attract customers snaking through the narrow streets, Ashiq N.S., a street-side vendor, said sales had not been good. Prices at most stalls started at ₹100, while the more expensive items cost around ₹500 to ₹600. As a woman in her thirties picked up a dress and examined it indecisively, he asked her to overlook the small dirt marks, saying they could easily be washed off.

Just as he had almost convinced her to buy the dress, the skies opened up. “This is the problem. It is evening, and sales are supposed to improve now, but that is precisely when it rains,” he said, as other workers and some customers rushed to pull plastic sheets over the clothes. “This has become routine. All we can do is wait for the rain to stop. By then, we will have lost several customers,” he said.

Muhammed Noushad, another street-side vendor, wondered whether people had enough money to spend.

“We brought in these Onam clothes for the festive season. We earn on a commission basis, and the rain has further affected sales. All we can do is fold our arms and wait for it to stop,” he said, folding his arms across his chest to demonstrate the dismal situation.

Abdul Razack (name changed), who was also selling Onam-themed clothes, said he had owned a shop on the street a few years ago.

“I lost the shop and suffered losses. I am starting again and am now selling these clothes on a commission basis.

“Sales have been lower this season, except yesterday and today. Perhaps people are buying from online stores,” he said. Even as online stores were said to be drawing customers away, the internet had also brought some shoppers to the market. Thahira, a young woman, could be heard playfully warning her sister-in-law Shahana that all hell would break loose if she failed to find the particular green outfit she had seen online.

“There was a video showing clothes being sold at very low prices and even by weight. We still haven’t found the place,” said Shahana, a native of Puthuvype.

Published - August 24, 2026 01:25 am IST

Terms & conditions  |  Institutional Subscriber

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.