A cracking Diwali: No need for plain and boring, go for the toffee and mithai firecrackers

Days before the festival of lights, people shop for decorations, diyas and crackers.

KARACHI:

It is only fitting that on the event most dear to the Hindu community, the firecrackers come in the shape of toffees and mithai. 

Diwali, the festival of lights, is all about the sparks and the noise from the crackers and phuljaris - for kids and adults alike. In preparation for the festival, which falls today (Sunday), people swarmed the Hindu temples on Friday and Saturday to get their hands on the new collection of crackers and decorations.

Almost real in appearance, the smallest crackers were the “toffee bombs”, wrapped in blue, pink and gold wrappers. “Children are buying these bombs a lot,” said the man selling them at the Swami Narayan Mandir. A packet of 50 toffee bombs was being sold for Rs250.

Barfi bomb, named and shaped after the mithai, was also selling like hot cakes. “The shapes and sizes of crackers attract people as they don’t want to use the plain and boring ones,” explained Sagar, a vendor selling firecrackers for the last 12 years.

He was also selling ‘Nagin firecrackers,’ which wriggled like a snake when lit up, for Rs80 a packet. The ‘Woodpecker firecrackers’ at his stall were for those who wanted to make the most noise.

The packets of phuljaris have been given a touch of Bollywood with Kareena Kapooor in a shiny red dress on the cover and some titled ‘Dabang’.



The excitement of buying an assortment of crackers, however, was slightly dampened by the increased prices. “Last year the price was around Rs40, but nothing is less than Rs80 this time,” said Sonam, who had just bought one bag of phuljaris.

Some shopkeepers tried to increase the market value of their products by claiming that they were brought from India and China.

“No one can bring firecrackers from India. We would be arrested if we did,” clarified a vendor, Raj, adding that all the firecrackers at his stall were locally manufactured. He was briefly interrupted by a young boy Ashok who came to buy two packets of Anaar bomb from his stall.

Adored adornments

A new twist on Torans, the beaded decoration hung on doors, was the addition of pearls. Vendors also listed bronze shields of Lakshmi and other gods as part of the new stock.

The new diyas this season were the delicate ones shaped in ‘Om’ and the gold-coloured ones with intricate patterns embossed on them. “Are these diyas? I have never seen ones like these before,” remarked Manoj Kumar just before he started haggling for their price. Finally, Rs50 for a pair was settled instead of Rs80. The shopkeeper, however, did not mind lowering the price, saying “We want everyone to celebrate Diwali happily and completely.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2013.