A noisy Diwali no, but sweet all right

By Lalit K. Jha

NEW DELHI, NOV. 13. The economic slump all round together with the long-running anti-crackers campaign in the Capital has had a devastating impact on the sale of firecrackers here this Diwali. But the slowdown does not appear to have had any impact on the sales of sweets and gift items, which continued to draw shoppers by the hordes to the markets on Diwali-eve.

A day before the festival of lights, when markets normally are abuzz with activity, attendance was thin at most firecracker shops. In many popular markets such as INA, Jama Masjid and Sadar Bazar -- where it is nearly impossible to find enough walking space around Diwali -- only a few firecracker shops were seen doing business.

``This is unbelievable! I am unable to digest that people have suddenly stopped buying firecrackers,'' rued Mr. G. P. Aggarwal, who has been selling ``anaars'' at his stall for 15 years. ``The day before Diwali used to be the most crowded for us. I used to sell thousands of anaars every day; today I have sold less than 200.''

Another seller, Mr. S. N. Goel, lamented the absence of bulk buyers. ``Earlier people used to buy firecrackers in bulk, but no longer.''

Noting that there has been a steady decline in the sale of crackers over the past three years, Mr. Mukesh Verma, who has a shop in INA Market, said: ``This time the flow of buyers is down to a trickle.''

Most dealers attributed the drop to the economic slowdown. Others blamed the Delhi Government's anti-crackers campaign directed children: ``Crackers are mostly lit by children. If they decide against buying, then who will?''

The Supreme Court directive against burning crackers after 10 p.m. has also affected sales. Many businessmen who would light long ``ladis'' -- strings of crackers -- on reaching home late in the night are not buying now for fear of prosecution. The savings made thus seem to have helped the sales of sweets and gifts. As one shopkeeper put it, ``People are no longer indulging in wasteful expenditure. Instead they are going in for essentials such as sweets for personal consumption as well as distribution among friends, relatives and business associates.''

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