Nitish gulal and Lalu pichkari this Holi

Patna, Mar 13 (UNI) Come the colourful festival of holi next week and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his arch rival Railway Minister Lalu Prasad will be seen moving together across the state in a combo pack of 'gulal and pichkaris' (squirts) much to the amusement of all.

Both the leaders, who leave no stone unturned to criticise each other's performance despite maintaining considerable distance in their long standing political rivalry in the state, have for a change found their names tagged together in two of the most important ingredients of the festival of holi.

To boost the spirit of holi in Patna and elsewhere, first the 'Sushasan' brand of colours and gulal, signifying the much talked about claim of the Chief Minister about the improvement of law and order, appeared in the local wholesale and other markets in large numbers generating huge demand and craze among the commoners.

Seeing the instant success of the 'Sushasan' brand, another section of innovative traders here lost no time in launching the Lalu branded 'pichkaris' in the form of a locomotive and with the front portion resembling the 'chubby' cheeks of Mr Prasad.

But as the squirts is known to become useless without having suitable water colours in them, both the products re-appeared in the market this week in combo packs of diffrent shapes and sizes comprising various shades of 'Sushasan' colours, gulal and the engine shaped Lalu' pichkari'only to be sold as hot cakes.

Even those who usually do not participate in the holi for variuous reasons, were picking up the combo pack as a souvenir, said one of the local shopkeepers here. As the festival, one of the most popular in state, was just about a week away, the demand for the unique combo product was set to go up manifold in the coming days, he added.

''Our sales are expected to soar by at least 50 to 60 per cent with almost everybody demanding the 'gulals and pichkaris' for the March 22 festival,'' said a trader.

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