A range of lighting items such as terracotta diyas, floating candles and tiny colourful bulbs are available in the market to decorate your homes this Diwali. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

 

 

 

 

 

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 30: Kiosks selling diyas, candles and electrical lights that have inundated the markets are turning to be crowd pullers. These are signs that Diwali, unlike Durga Puja and Laxmi Puja, will be celebrated with enthusiasm and energy.

Diyas in different shapes and sizes are available in the market. While the earthen ones are being sold at Re 1 per piece, the terracotta ones are priced anything between Rs 40 and Rs 80 depending on how intricate is the artwork. Even the wicks for the diyas are available in abundance.

Candles of myriad hues are being sold at Rs 10 a piece. One can avail discounts on bulk orders. Even the much in vogue, small rounded candles that can float on water are aplenty. Talking about the effect of cyclone on the market and sales this year, Shankar Kumar Behera, a salesman at Unit – I market said: “The price rise is marginal. Whether the salespersons incur loss or not can be said only after the festival. The cyclone has affected the potters badly though as they failed to make more diyas, but the shopkeepers like us have stocks left from last year.”

The customers are also left spoilt for choice with variety of decorative LED lights available in the market. The kiosks have strings or ropes of electrical lights from tiny LED bulbs to the ones with six watts bulbs. The bulbs of different colours glow in tandem making them the stand out during the festival of lights.

“Many think that Diwali will be a dull affair because of the devastation that Phailin has caused. But, many of my friends and I believe that it should be a grand affair. We could not celebrate Dussehra, Durga Puja and Laxmi Puja because of the storm and incessant rain. Diwali is also an occasion to celebrate happiness and welcome prosperity. Lighting up the house is a symbol of hope and it will drive away all the sadness,” said Vikash Mishra, a 22-year-old buyer, who came to buy candles and crackers at the market. The shopkeepers are also expecting to some brisk business this week.