The moonless night sky looked resplendent as steel city residents released hundreds of sky lanterns on Diwali.

Despitethe widespread sentiment of boycotting Chinese goods during Diwali, phanush or sky lantern made in China and priced around Rs 40 each was the toast of every fireworks stall in Jamshedpur.

From being cheaper than many crackers to being environment friendly and free of sound pollution, sky lanterns had every reason to be favourites.

"A sky lantern does not contribute to sound pollution in any way and is a splendid sight at night," said Shekhar Bharadwaj, a Class XII boy of Kadma's Baldwin Farm Area High School and Bistupur resident.

"This time, I released three sky lanterns. Initially, I thought phanush would be difficult to fly but it wasn't," he added.

Shekhar promised to try making a sky lantern at home next year.

Tanmay Jha, a Class IX student of DAV High School in Bistupur, also said that watching a sky lantern float up in the night sky on Diwali was an experience to remember.

"It was a really surreal experience. We failed in our first few attempts due to wind speed. Finally we held it upright, lit it up and saw it drift away," said Tanmay.

Shopkeeper Vinod Katiyal (50), who had set up a fireworks shop at G-Town grounds in Bistupur, admitted there was huge demand for Chinese sky lanterns among children. "After the news of boycotting Chinese crackers spread, I sold sky lanterns on the sly only to known people. Most rockets and crackers remained unsold but all 100 pieces of the sky lanterns were sold out," he said.