Shopping is not yet over for many, even as schools have opened; late - shoppers still crowd the city shops in search of a replacement for previous year's school bag, a new umbrella to welcome the rains, raincoats, lunch boxes or water - bottles.

"The rush - hours are not over, though the timing has shifted to evening," says Y. Veerabhadra of Mysore Tarpaulins.

City shops have a range of bags for different sections of students. "Nursery kids would go for colourful, cute bags," says Manoj of Rajputana Trading Company on Sayyaji Rao Road. The shops have quaint bags with dolls of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, little Ganapathi or puppets stitched onto them, exclusively to woo the crying lot of beginners in the arena of knowledge - seeking — the kids of LKG (or for that matter UKG and I std also); the prices are not cute though. The tiny doll-bags costs between Rs. 250 and Rs. 450, depending up - on the material they are made of.

Students of higher standards go for big bags, with more pockets and compartments; and, of course, materials. A variety of materials are used in manufacture of school bags — nylon, nylon matting, parachute material and jeans cotton material being a few.

Jithendra Sisodia of Shaw Bags said that nylon matting material is waterproof, while the parachute material is light. However, many of the costly bags are made of jeans cotton material.

"The most moving bags are that of V3 Expert, K.B., Globus, Modista etc., which costs between Rs. 150 and Rs. 300. However, bags of companies like Diesel, Ludan etc. starts at Rs. 500 and soars high. Fastrack bags are also costly," said Sisodia, adding that non - branded bags and those with imitation labels which cost around Rs. 150 - 250 also have takers.

"The college bags are more fashionable; the looks are important," says Rajeshwari of Mysore Tarpaulins, which houses separate sections in the shop for separate set of classes. "High school kids go for soft, weightless and washable bags."

Umbrellas:
Though the rains come as unexpected pats and disappear, the umbrellas are still a must in the school kits while starting an academic year. Though the supply is short this year, shops have a variety of umbrellas to offer.

Here too there is age (or class) difference in preference. "The kids have one - fold, colourful umbrellas with cartoon characters or big pictures imprinted on them, with a curved handle," says Manoj. "Ladies too choose coloured, fancy umbrellas, mostly three - fold and compact."

Men are tasteless in case of umbrellas — they go for black, two - fold umbrellas, though nowadays some go for three - fold too, owing to convenience. The wooden curved - handled, one - fold umbrellas are still considered a pride by senior citizens.

Black umbrellas are the all - time hits, though shops like Mysore Tarpaulins have a variety of fancy, imported ones. Umbrellas, imported from China, England and Germany, have been arrayed to welcome rains this year.

The fancy umbrellas have frill - borders with more stick and wider, to suit pretty women. Rare umbrellas with two joints are also found. Some are made of transparent PVC material. The variety in these umbrellas are sure to turn one's eyeballs. Costs range from Rs. 200 - 850 and above.

However, the most common are the Sun Brand, Motherland and locally - manufactured umbrellas. The branded ones cost between Rs. 200 - 600, while the local - made ones are cheapest, costing around Rs. 100 - 150.

"Umbrellas with many foldings are less durable, though they are convenient. Also, the number of sticks determine the strength of an umbrella — the more the number of sticks, the more durable they are," said Veerabhadra, while giving a demo of an umbrella whose whole operation was through a switch fixed on the handle.

Raincoats:
Raincoats are also preferred by many, since they protect the bags from the maneuvering rain. Raincoats for children cost Rs. 150-600, while those for bigger souls cost Rs. 300 - 1800.

However, a school - kit is incomplete without lunch boxes, water bottles and lunch bags — sparing the books; but that is yet another story.

U. K. Rumana
Courtesy: Star of Mysore