Lights delight

The market is flooded with golden king, Jiljil, mother baby and much more. If these headers seem difficult to decode, you have definitely not hit the firecracker market this Diwali.

Ecologic concerns or the price rise may have reduced the sparks during this season, but the spirit of Diwali remains unchanged

The market is flooded with golden king, Jiljil, mother baby and much more. If these headers seem difficult to decode, you have definitely not hit the firecracker market this Diwali. The festival of lights like every year has the virtual stars and rockets twinkling in the sky and the chakras and anars flickering on the ground but the market numbers have a different story to tell!

Kedar Kharadkar has put up his stall on Mhatre Bridge, the hub of cracker stalls in the city. He says, 8220;The newest are the fancy items that sparkle in the sky and have around 120 to 240 shots. However the rockets, flowerpots and the crackers are the most sold items. The business is low this year. But I think it is because of the nearly 40 per cent increase in the prices. Correspondingly there is a 40 per cent down turn in the customers. Last year8217;s wholesale prices have become this year8217;s retail prices.8221;

Rajendra Wagaskar has his six-day makeshift stall in Koregaon Park and has been donating the turnover from the sales to schools and children in the slum areas in the city. He too echoes the drop in demand as he adds, 8220;It could be an eco-friendly measure by people but affordability has surely gone down because of the cost. The grand fireworks can go up to Rs 7000 but very few people buy them. The attractive ones in a reasonable range are colour changing butterfly, musical crackers and so on. According to me the buying has gone down by a flat 50 per cent.8221;

While this is about the transitions in the market, there is a significant change in the mindset of the customers as well. For instance, Jyostna Roy, a BPO professional says, 8220;I celebrate Diwali with mild crackers, that do not produce high sound. Although the festival brings in a lot of liberties, one must voluntarily avoid loud crackers, they are an interruption for employees like me who do not enjoy holidays and have odd sleeping hours. There might be several norms on the decibel limit but I doubt if they can be actually measured.8221;

For Vibhav Kulkarni, a student, crackers are the most exciting thing to do, incessantly since they are limited to the festival. 8220;Lighting them is more like a competition amongst my friends and family, I make sure we have at least one variety of different crackers available. The sounds, lights and displays make a frenzy and fantastic atmosphere, so I think people must enjoy the fire at the moment and forget the smoke,8221; he smiles.