Navratri losing rhythm in Mumbai

Sponsors staying away on as they don't expect a large enough gathering by 10 pm

In the midst of the hue and cry over the 10 pm deadline during the Navratri festival, sponsors seem to be dithering over the question of going ahead with their plans of sponsoring the Navratri mandals in the city.

Over the last decade, the festival has notched up a high commercial value because of the increasing number of young people participating in the Dandiya festival. This, has resulted in the mushrooming of different commercial Navratri mandals in Mumbai as the turnaround of people has been on a rise every year.

However this year, sponsors are keeping their fingers crossed as they don't expect to get a large enough public by 10 at the night.

"There is no point in spending money when the number of people to see your adverstisement is not much. Last year, with Rs 5 lakhs we had sponsored Juhu Jagruti, but this year we are going to have a marginal cut," said Chintan Doshi, Director, Tangent furniture.

Head of Juhu Jagruti charitable trust, Raju Bhai Shah at Vile Parle, said, "The deadline of 10 pm is not going to affect us, as ours is not a commercial one. It's obvious that sponsors won't be turning up with huge sums, as they may not get enough publicity".

"Last year, we did not do anything specific for Navratri. However, this time we want to do something, but the deadline of the timing has made us apprehensive enough to think before sponsoring," said Rani, marketing manager, ITZ cash card.

"Unless we get proper mileage out of the event, we will restrict ourselves from sponsoring. With a sum of Rs 11.5 lakh, we will be associate sponsors in Sankalp. Had there been no deadline, other venues could have been given a thought and sponsorship amount could have been increased," she added.

The big names are equally sceptical. "I agree that offering sponsorships may not be that lucrative as it was earlier. One thing is sure - we are not going to play the big role, this time around as we had been playing in Navratri earlier," said a marketing executive of Coke.

"The deadline really matters. We are adopting a wait and watch policy. We have not planned for the festival as of yet," said ` Shah, assistant marketing manager, Coke India.

However, president of Sankalp, which has managed to bag Hyundai, Skoda, Maruti, Sahara, Star Plus and Sony's sponsorships, Devendra Joshi said: "We are not running short of sponsors as we're completely sold off. The deadline is not a new thing. It is there since 2001."

Keeping the deadline in mind, we have arranged shows so as to entertain the public," said

In the last five days of the festival, we get a turnaround of 15-25 thousand people. We have gone up in terms of sponsors this year," said Devendra Joshi, President, Sankalp.

The Sankalp mandal is also orgainising an auto show, where brands such as Hyundai, Skoda, Maruti, etc will be in focus. Other sponsors include, the satellite channels - Sahara, Star Plus and Sony. At the same time, shows which focus on dating and pair-making will also be a part of the festival.

"By including such entertainment shows, we will continue getting more and more people. Thus, we can generate enough revenues so that sponsors need not worry," Joshi added.