Colors of Depavali

Global recession and terror threats notwithstanding, Delhiites celebrated Dhanteras with traditional fervour on Sunday. Packed markets across the city in the evening had traders finally heaving a sigh of relief, worried as they had been with dismal sales in the month. Karol Bagh, South Ext, Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar reported a massive rush of customers on Sunday

In many areas, even colony markets were packed to capacity in the evening with shoppers. Samir Menon, a jewellery shop owner in Karol Bagh, said: ‘‘We are glad sales finally seem to be picking up. We’ve had a huge rush of customers for the traditional gold and silver coins.’’ The year has not been good for shop owners. Traders claimed that sales have never been so bad. While there was a rush of customers for Dhanteras, shop-keepers said the crowd was still way less than the past few years. Balwant Singh, owner of a utensils shop in Lajpat Nagar market said: ‘‘People are not making big purchases this year and restricting themselves to smaller items like tea sets, pressure cookers and thalis. We’ve been offering huge discounts on big packages but still we’re left with loads of unsold stock.’’ Meanwhile, security remained tight with extra patrolling and metal detectors placed at all entry/exit points in even small colony markets. Shop-keepers said people were very wary of going to crowded markets and preferred to complete their shopping in the afternoon rather than evening. Said Arun Gupta, president of Lajpat Nagar Traders Association: ‘‘Peak purchasing time usually is in the evening from 5 pm to 8 pm, but this year most women shoppers have completed their purchases early.

The fear is still there and it has affected our sales badly. Sales have gone down by 45%.’’ There were also fewer shops selling firecrackers this year and Delhiites complained that crackers had become way too expensive. ‘‘I bought just a few packets of crackers and it cost me over Rs 250. This time I don’t see as many shops selling them as before,’’ said Kanika Gupta, who was shopping in Sarojini Nagar with her family.

A festival knows no boundaries. Or so it seemed at Bindal’s in Connaught Place on Saturday as scores of people came forward to light diyas at the public diya-lighting event organised by The Times of India in celebration of Diwali. Part of the crowd included tourists who couldn’t stay away from the brightness of the diyas and the bonhomie that was clearly apparent. According to Lee and Wen, tourists from China, it was the brightly lit diyas on the gigantic lamp set up in front of the store that attracted them. Delighted to discover the significance of the festival, both of them just couldn’t resist lighting up the diyas. Curious about why the diyas were set to be lighted by all, the couple were eager to contribute to spreading TOI’s message of truth, goodness and wisdom, as well as conveying their wishes to the people around.