Apart from Dhaam Dhoom to Mark DIWALI on Sunday 12 November, Kudla is right now Adorned with Diyas, Goodudeepas, Lights, Sweets, Jewellery etc.
Mangaluru: Diwali, the festival of lights and one of the most important Hindu festivals, is here and people have started the preparations for it, to celebrate the BIG feast on Sunday, 12 November. A festival that goes beyond cultures and religions, Diwali marks the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. The entire city is soaked in the festive spirit and people have started to decorate their houses with rangolis, Goodu deepas, colourful earthen lamps, candles, lanterns, and fireworks and give wonderful presents to their near and dear ones.
What makes Diwali even more special is that this glittering festival continues for five consecutive days- Dhanteras, Naraka Chaturdasi, Lakshmi Puja (Diwali), Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj/Bali Padyami. 2023. DAY ONE: People clean their homes and shop for gold or kitchen utensils to help bring good fortune.; DAY TWO: People decorate their homes with clay lamps and create design patterns called rangoli on the floor using coloured powders or sand.; DAY THREE: On the main day of the festival, families gather together for Lakshmi puja, a prayer to Goddess Lakshmi, followed by mouth-watering feasts and firework festivities.; DAY FOUR: This is the first day of the new year, when friends and relatives visit with gifts and best wishes for the season.; and DAY FIVE: Brothers visit their married sisters, who welcome them with love and a lavish meal. Lakshmi Puja, the most auspicious of Diwali festival days is celebrated as the day of Diwali.
The word Diwali means ‘rows of lighted lamps’. Diwali is known as the ‘festival of lights’ because houses, shops and public places are decorated with small earthenware oil lamps called diyas. The philosophical aspect of the festival- of moving from darkness to light, ignorance to knowledge and sorrow to bliss- is reflected in the practice of lighting diyas and will be seen till the conclusion of the Karthika month. Yes, the biggest festival of the year is here. And, people are gearing up to look their best, decorate their homes grandly, most importantly have the brightness of different lights cascading into their homes.
All this takes considerable trips to shops and markets and that is what everyone is busy doing. While most Mangaloreans have finished buying clothes, jewellery and gifts, many are busy with neck-of-the-moment purchases. Malls are offering special discount sales for Diwali, so also many shops in the city malls. For youngsters and children, Diwali shopping is incomplete without firecrackers.
Diwali is not only a festival of joy and celebration but also of intense shopping setting in pace loads of shopping activities by men and women alike. From clothes to jewellery, to home appliances and electronic gadgets, to house decorations and fireworks etc, Indian people, including Mangaloreans are known to do the maximum Diwali shopping to make the festival truly special for themselves. It is learnt that during this festival, many offices follow the tradition of offering extra money or ‘bonus’ to their employees, thus it prompts people to splurge the money on shopping. More so, people remain in festive and joyous moods as soon as celebrations of Diwali arrive and hence, they end up buying more than what they would do on normal days.
Exchanging gifts with family, acquaintances and friends is a custom which also increases the level of shopping during the festival. If Diwali gifts are given, then they are received as well, thus adding to the level of shopping. Offices, business organizations and employees everywhere offer gifts to their employees on this festival to enhance the goodwill. From crackers to household articles to candles to dry fruit boxes to sweets to chocolates to clothes to mobile, people love to buy many things to make Diwali shopping a joyous and enriching experience for them.
Once again Chinese-made products rule during this festival time. On the occasion of the Diwali festival, the market is full of home decor items. Due to cheaper rates and attractive appearance, Chinese products are attracting a large number of people pushing domestic products onto the back foot. Notably, as people decorate their houses vigorously on the day of the festival of light, different types of home decor items have been lined up in markets to encash the festive mood of people.
Jewellers too are displaying new ranges of golden, silver and diamond ornaments to woo shoppers once again on the festival occasion. These shops are also offering artistic gold/ silver coins, silverware and golden/diamond fashion accessories with discounts and gift packs to attract high-end buyers. Despite a steep increase in price, demand for fireworks has not come down this Diwali in the city. You could see large crowds gathered at the fireworks shops on Market Road, Bunder and many other parts of the city.
Ullhas Rasquinha, the owner of Jerosa Company said, ” The craze to buy Diwali decorations like Goodudeepa has come down compared to years ago. But business has been good so far and we hope it will be good in the coming days. We have stocked very limited items and the most popular ones, and we are happy with the sales so far. This festival of lights is celebrated with tremendous zeal and devotion by people of all age groups as well as social and economic standing”. Shashikanth Nagvekar, the partner of Kalpana Sweets near old Central Market said, ” So far the business has been good, and we have lots of pre-orders for sweet boxes, which will be kept ready by the weekend. The fastest-selling sweets are the ladoos and assorted sweets. Hoping for good sales in the coming days”.
Despite the availability of a large array of trendy fireworks imported from China, people were still interested in buying traditional crackers and fireworks manufactured in India. Firecracker vendors here bemoaned that they had only 65 per cent of the sales so far compared with last year. Diwali is incomplete with fireworks, and with firecrackers priced around 40 per cent higher than last year, the sound and sparkle of Diwali may be missing here this time, both traders and customers fear.
Having all said, Diwali is a festival that is celebrated with a lot of heart and revelry by people across India. Although if one takes a cursory look at this festival, it can easily be categorized as a Hindu festival, if one looks a little more deeply, one can easily see that celebrations of this festival transcend the boundaries of caste and creed. This festival of lights is celebrated with tremendous zeal and devotion by people of all age groups as well as social and economic standing. The scale of celebrations can vary from downright ostentatiously extravagant to gracefully simple. On the day of Diwali, scores of diyas, candles and multicoloured light bulbs illuminate the moonless night, presenting a bedazzling spectacle of colour, light, vibrancy and exuberance that enthrals one and all.
Happy Diwali to all our readers from Team Mangalorean. Have a safe and fun-filled Diwali. Get ready for some Dhaam Dhoom, but be careful and safe with fireworks. And remember to buy GREEN CRACKERS, and protect the environment.