Call it a belief or superstition but during the festive season especially Deepavali, a small stationery shop in Bengaluru is thronged by customers so much so that a queue forms on the road.

Located on the Avenue Road of the city, the shop is a Sha Jasraj Jain store which witnesses a long line of patiently waiting customers on Sunday, Dhanteras day and then on Monday the day of Deepavali. The reason being the customers, traders in particular, believe that bahi khata or ledger books, account books, and pens purchased from the shop will be their lucky charm and bring them good luck and prosperity.

Sharing details about this strange custom with New Indian Express, J. Uttam Chand, the proprietor of the shop which is 47 years old, said: “This is a tradition which started during my father Jasraj Jain’s time and continues till today. Though most businesses use computers to keep their accounts, they still throng my shop to buy these paper notebooks. From Dasara to Diwali, footfalls to my small shop spirals and this time, at least 6,000 traders came over. On Sunday alone, we had 650 customers and had to open our shop at 6 a.m. and shut at 10 p.m. Some of them just buy a pen or a Jain calendar.”

Interestingly, this belief that account books, pens and other stationery items bring good luck has spread word of mouth. Now businessmen from across Bengaluru come to buy items from the shop, especially during Deepavali.

A jewellery businessman, Dharminder Gadiya told the media that every year he buys ledger, calendar and Day Book from this shop for the past 15 years. “I need to keep them in front of Goddess Lakshmi and Saraswati during pujas. I believe that buying them from here boosts my business. My father too used to do it.”