What does Kande Navami have to do with today’s onion prices? Perhaps more than we think.
“Shravan mein pyaaz mat khao,” Aai said, when I showed her the news about rising onion prices.
Then she added: “Market ko bhi Shravan follow karna chahiye.”
I laughed.
But then I started thinking about it.
Kande Navami falls on Ashadh Shukla Navami, just before Ashadhi Ekadashi and in many households, It is traditionally celebrated with onion dishes before the four-month period of Chaturmas, when many families avoid onion and garlic.
And then comes Shravan — another month when many households change what they eat, often avoiding onion, garlic and non-vegetarian food.
Why during these months?
There are religious and cultural explanations. But there is also an interesting seasonal coincidence.
These are the monsoon months.
And monsoon is precisely when onions can become a tricky crop to manage — from harvesting and transportation to storage and spoilage.
And look at what is happening this year.
Onion prices have risen sharply. The all-India average retail price was around ₹43.53/kg in late August, 59% higher than a year earlier. In some cities, prices have crossed ₹60.
Unseasonal rain damaged parts of the Rabi crop, storage losses reduced available stocks, and delayed Kharif arrivals have added pressure.
The government is now releasing buffer stocks and even sending onions from Nashik to major cities through the “Kanda Express.”
And suddenly Aai’s comment doesn’t sound quite so random.
Maybe the Hindu calendar wasn’t predicting onion inflation.
But perhaps traditional food practices evolved alongside the same seasonal realities — monsoon, harvest, storage and availability — that still influence our food markets today.
Aai had one final observation: “Tum log inflation ka chart dekhte ho. Purane log mausam dekhte the.”
Maybe.
The Kanda Express and Kande Navami are obviously two very different things.
But both made me look at the humble onion differently.
Sometimes, an economic story has been sitting quietly inside a cultural tradition all along.
Do you also avoid onion and garlic during Shravan or Chaturmas?
#IndianEconomy #OnionPrices #IndianCulture
