By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : Every neighbourhood is lit up with twinkling electric lights. And be it elaborate shopping lists or sweets that are as much a feast for the eyes as tongues or the colourful range of diyas and firecrackers – the spirit of Diwali has engulfed all.
Whether it’s in the overcrowded shops of Chandni Chowk and Sarojini Nagar or the central business district Connaught Place, pulsating energy is running through the veins of the capital city.
People, with their arms filled with gifts wrapped in the brightest coloured paper, can be seen everywhere – walking on the roads, boarding the buses, sitting in the metro…
To be celebrated Friday, Diwali is one of the biggest festivals of India and it shows in the buoyant mood and the glistening markets.
Rakhi Talwar, a south Delhi resident, is one of the many busy shopping furiously till the last minute. Candles have topped her shopping list.
“There are so many varieties of them. The other day I went to this shop in a mall in west Delhi that had nearly 150 varieties of candles!” said Talwar.
“From doll shaped candles to flowers, from scented candles to floating ones, there was so much to choose from…so instead of wasting my money on fire crackers, I have splurged on candles for myself and my friends,” Talwar said.
Richa Sharma, a teacher, said she has ensured that her children don’t spend their pocket money on crackers. Instead, tiny diyas and candles have filled their shopping bags.
“My kids, both of whom are in school, realise that firecrackers only contribute towards air pollution. Hence it was unanimously decided by the family that none of us is going to buy crackers,” Sharma told IANS.
“Instead, we have bought diyas and candles and the rest of our Diwali budget we will donate to an orphanage near our house. The festival, after all, is a joyous festival and our aim should be to spread happiness around.”
But not all go by what Sharma believes in. Bursting firecrackers is a major attraction.
“Diwali without firecrackers? Impossible!” said Rahul Jain, who works in a private firm.
Rahul has made his rounds of the firecracker shops, overflowing with a variety of them – chilli bombs, phuljhari et al – and is still not satisfied with his stock.
“I blow up a lot of money, a couple of thousands, on firecrackers during Diwali. But that’s ok, it just happens once a year,” Jain said.
Splurging on jewellery, clothes, shoes and accessories is a luxury people indulge in around Diwali. Any market you go to, any lane you cross, the shops are flooded with people.
According to the store manager of Incense, a shop that sells clothes and other accessories in Kamla Nagar in north Delhi, the sales go up by nearly 50 percent during this festive season.
“The sales start going up by mid October, when the festive season just begins. Like this year, Eid was celebrated first, then came Dussehra and now Diwali. People don’t mind splurging and wait for this time to spend on themselves as well as on their relatives and friends,” said Ashmit Singh of the store.
“But it’s not just clothes that people buy,” said Vimlendu Pathak, a BPO employee.
“Many people take advantage of the numerous Diwali offers on electrical items such as TV, refrigerator, washing machine et al and buy them during this period. For instance, I have just bought a washing machine. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I didn’t buy earlier because you get the best discounts at this time,” Pathak said.
And then of course you have the sweets. Besan laddoo, moti choor laddoo, jalebi, kajukatli, kaju pista rolls, peda, burfi…the list of sweets made during Diwali is endless.
Besides being rustled up in homes, the sweets are also laid out in huge tables outside every sweetshop. Dry fruits and chocolates of every size, flavour and colour, wrapped in shimmering cellophane paper, are also laid out.
Eight-year-old Sulakshana Baruah said she has already placed her demands – one box of chocolate each – with her uncle and aunt. “I am going to stock up my chocolates and then devour them slowly,” Baruah said with a mischievous smile.
It’s now a matter of time before the tiny flicker of diyas decorating the balcony of virtually every house pierces through the misty night and lights up every heart.