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Style statements for school
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Shopping for school has become an expensive enterprise considering the variety available.
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BAG IT: The days of the khaki satchels are long gone. - Photos: Satish H
THE SUMMER vacation is over and it is time to shop for school. Gone are the days when it simply meant functional shopping of books, uniform and the ubiquitous geometry box. Now, is the time of merchandising, and you have to choose between a Spiderman and a Barbie doll pencil box or a Harry Potter satchel.
These ordinary things are enticingly packaged to lure the children and the frills attached to the product make them long for them. The mind-boggling array of the stuff makes it difficult for an adult to make a choice leave alone a child.
The environmentally inclined have erasers in the shape of vegetables, fruits, teddy bears and other animals and of course the lord of the jungle, Tarzan. The various sharpeners that are available look more like items that are fit to be arranged in showcases. Small, fancy plastic buckets filled with crayons, erasers, pencil top erasers and sharpeners are a hot favourite with little girls. There is even the ping-pong stationery set with a fancy sharpener, eraser, purse, sketch book, push-back pencil, crayons, fun stick gum, fancy stickers, key chain and a photo frame.
Companies have jumped on the bandwagon with exciting offers like Camlin's "Back to School" offer with stationery such as pencil and geometry boxes, sketch pens, water colours, brushes and glue bottles packed in an box.
Stic is offering colour pens with a sketch to colour and colouring tips. Luxor has sketch pens attractively packaged with a free quiz book. Parag's colouring books come with a set of wild life post cards, set of water colour cakes and an information booklet of wild animals.
Step into any stationery shop, and you will find children gazing at the stuff longingly, unable to make up their minds on what to buy. Given the option, they would like to buy everything. Anita says, "I am supposed to buy a pencil box but I would also like to have the duck sharpener, an elephant eraser and the pencil with clown at the tip."
When asked if she really needs all this, she says, "my friends will definitely get them to school and I would like to show them what I bought." Most children who go for this stuff are between the age group of 4 to 12 years.
Children studying in the ninth IX or X std dismiss the goodies as "kids stuff." They, however, admit (albeit sheepishly) to having bought the multi-coloured pencil boxes when they were younger hastening like Harish to explain that they are "older now."
COOL CARRIERS: It is not what you bring for lunch that matters but what you bring it in.
Most children prefer "something new every year. They are fun, besides we also like to exchange what we bought among our best friends. Sometimes it is like buying for my best friend," says ten-year-old Shweta.
But for parents it is a big hole in their pockets. "Education has become a costly affair and nowadays children want fancy items that are quite expensive. We do not feel like breaking their little hearts.
So we buy what we can afford and try to convince them that others are a waste," says Vanaja who is having a harrowing time convincing her little son and daughter on what to buy.
With every passing year, the shelves are full with newer and more attractive buys and children can revel in an embarrassment of riches.
G. MANJULA KUMAR
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