The air turns festive as lamps begin to glow in doorways, sweets fill kitchen shelves, and the scent of incense drifts through neighbourhoods. Diwali is here.
Celebrated across the world, the Festival of Lights signifies the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. And it is always special for Kochi, a melting pot of cultures.
Megha, from Delhi, will testify that. “Kerala was my dream destination. But settling down in Kochi after marriage came with one downside. I missed the Delhi-style Diwali, my favourite festival,” she says.
“But within a year of us settling here, I realised I could recreate it here. I found a ‘gali’ in Broadway market. Here you get everything, even specific decorations for Diwali. I also get the latest, safe sparklers and fireworks from Broadway or a shop in Thrikkakara. Now I have no complaints.”
Inside Mather Bazaar in Broadway, Megha and her husband are perusing the displays at stores for diyas, paper lanterns, garlands, and ‘Happy Diwali’ door hangings.
At Prince Fancy Stores on the street, shop owner T K Renjith says he caters to many regular customers who have been buying Diwali goodies from him for years. “Besides the diyas and lanterns, domes made of cloth and Diwali-themed home decor land at the market weeks ahead of the festival. Diyas shaped like flowers and battery-operated ones that light just with water are popular picks,” he adds.
Babu, proprietor of Sonyu Agencies, notes that this is the season of multiple festivals. “Navaratri just got over. Now the Diwali sale is on. Soon, Halloween (31) will start trending. Then begins our main business months in November-December for Christmas and New Year,” he smiles.
Next, we check out the cracker scene. At Shaji Enterprises, a wholesale firecracker store on Banerji Road, Diwali business has just started picking up. “The store was set up by my father in 1960. Many small outlets in Ernakulam source fireworks from us,” says shop owner Shine Das. What’s new this season? “Helicopter crackers (that hover up and burst) are trending now.”
P V John Fireworks, a popular retail outlet near Marine Drive, also has some trending stuff on display. “Here is ‘Vande Bharat’, a cracker-sparkler that zips and zig-zags like a train, and ends the journey with a light pop,” smiles shop owner Annie Benny, as she tends to customers.
“This year, business is a bit dull. I hope it booms over the weekend. We usually have some customers who buy crackers worth over `10,000.”
Annie adds that our items on display are “green crackers”. “Pollution is a concern. We buy only those with the ‘Haritha seal’,” she says.
