It’s going to be a Wet Diwali this Year! Hindus Gearing Up for the Festival of Lights

It’s going to be a Wet Diwali this Year! Hindus Gearing Up for the Festival of Lights

Mangaluru: Preparations for the three days celebration of Deepavali — Naraka Chaturdasi, Lakshmi Puja and Bali Padyami is already being seen in the City as Hindu devotees are gearing up for the festival buying the things they need -like goodu deepas, diyas, lanterns, decorations, flower hangings, home items, jewellery, sweets, fireworks etc etc. Diwali is perhaps the most well-known of the Hindu festivals. 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 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 a special discount sale for Diwali, so also many jewellery shops. 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 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 mood as soon as celebrations of Diwali arrive and hence, they end up buying more than what they would do in 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.

Even though many traders are saying that they are not selling Chinese products this year, but if you look around in the market Chinese made products still rule during this festival time. On the occasion of Diwali festival, the market is full of home decor items. Due to cheaper in rates and attractive in appearance, Chinese products are attracting a large number of people pushing the domestic products on to back foot. Notably, as people decorate their houses vigorously on the day of the festival of lights, different types of home decor items have been lined up in markets to encash on the festive mood of people.

Electrical items like series lamps, festoons, chandeliers, running strip, Vax lamp, Deep Mala, Moti Mala etc are high in demand. China made toys, battery, fancy items, firecrackers, electronics items are very much in demand as these products are selling on half or even less than the domestic products. Appearance-wise also these products are giving a tough fight to Indian products but in this shoppers melee both local trade and national exchequer are the ultimate sufferers.

Jewellers too are displaying new ranges of golden, silver and diamond ornaments with a view to woo shoppers once again on the occasion of ‘Dhanteras’. These shops are also offering artistic gold/ silver coins, silverware and golden/diamond fashion accessories with discounts and gift-pack to attract high-end buyers. Despite the steep increase in price, demand for fireworks has not come down this Diwali in the city. With few days to go before Deepavali, you could see large crowds gathered at the fireworks shops on Market Road, Bunder and many other parts of the city.

Despite the availability of large array of trendy fireworks imported from China, people were still interested in buying traditional crackers and fireworks manufactured in India. According to one fireworks dealer, the prices of fireworks almost doubled due to strict restrictions on explosive chemicals. Firecracker vendors here bemoaned that they had only 65 percent of the sales so far compared with last year, due to unexpected rains. Diwali is incomplete without fireworks, and with firecrackers priced around 40 percent 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, but 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. To mark the occasion, people start cleaning and renovating their houses days, sometimes even a month, before the festival. 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 well in advance from Team Mangalorean. Have a safe and fun-filled Diwali. Get ready for some Dham Dhoom, but be careful and safe with fireworks?