Indian Diwali lights a matter of pride!

Radhika Pasrija

Chandigarh, November 11

Diwali celebrations, or any celebration for that matter, are dull, gloomy and boring without lights — fairy lights, string lights or any other light. Now, it is not just a matter of lights, but pride. After India imposed a “ban” on Chinese electronic products, the Indian market took time to entirely get used to it, but the country accepted the “move” for the sake of nationalism.

As the city gears up for Diwali, shopkeepers and vendors claim to be selling Indian string lights, while boycotting the Chinese ones. “This year, fairy lights were manufactured in India, which are cheaper too,” said a vendor in the Sector 20 market. A 15-m roll of Chinese lights used to be sold at Rs 150 while the Indian lights are being sold at Rs 100. As we are buying these lights at a lesser price, their retail price has also dropped, he added.

Another shopkeeper in the Sector 18 market said Chinese lights were still being sold under the Indian cover. “We still have loads of Chinese stock, which we sell on occasions like Diwali and Christmas,” he added.

Handmade Indian lights are also available in the market, which range between Rs 500 and Rs 700 per 22-m roll. The city witnessed all kinds of customers, from those wanting to spend extra bucks on Indian lights to those going for the cheapest fairy lights, but Indian.

“Diwali shouldn’t just be about ‘Ram vaapsi’, but also ‘ghar vaapsi’ of Indian products. We try to buy everything of Indian origin to support our economy,” said a couple in their late 50s buying lights from the Sector 22 market.

Cakes ‘n cookies replace sweets as gift

• Along with consumerism, health consciousness has also increased among city residents. People now prefer ‘sugar-free’ cakes and cookies, gluten-free snacks and imported dry fruits to sweets for gifting purpose.
• A worker at Baba Dairy in Sector 21 said, “People now ask for something different to present as gift. They buy expensive packings of cookies, dry cake and canned beverages for members of different age groups in a family.” The sale of sweets has not entirely dropped but customers ask for alternatives, he added.
• Other famous sweets shops in the city, including Gopal’s and Sindhi Sweets, saw a similar change in trend.