Mosquito net vendors abuzz with business

KOCHI: Kochi is a land of many attractions with its islands, backwaters, palaces and beaches. But none of these regular attractions has brought Muhammed Sajid to the city. Sajid, a mosquito net vendor from Delhi, was in fact fascinated by the mosquitoes in Kochi. “Waha ka macchar tho UP se bhi bada hai!” (The mosquitoes there are bigger than those in UP!), a friend, who visited Kochi weeks ago, told him. Sajid soon found himself packing his bags and heading for the Queen of Arabian sea.Until now Sajid’s business has been restricted to the northern states of the country. But the size of the mosquitoes in Kochi was so alluring that he ended up ignoring the distance and came to city. Sajid is not the only one drawn to Kochi by its mosquitoes. Mosquito net stalls and vendors have been mushrooming in the city, of late. Many of them can be seen displaying their colourful nets in the city streets.Mosquito nets might be a novelty here, but many Kochiites are sceptical about the business. “The mosquito net frames on the windows and doors are more popular and convenient. As such people do not take to the nets too often,” says Bindu Muralidharan, a resident of Vytilla. But one thing that might go to the advantage of the mosquito net vendors is the price.“A mosquito net frame for a single window pane can cost as much as `600. It will be a little less in the case of the nets that are pasted onto the windows,” says Bindu. But the largest of the  mosquito net costs as much as `1000 and a baby mosquito net comes for `300.But Sajid says, “We have brought only limited number of nets. If it sells we will come again, otherwise we will just travel through the city, have fun and head back home,” he says.