Shops witness record sales as Delhiites pull out all stops

Delhiites, this year, pulled out all stops to make Diwali larger than life.

Delhiites, this year, pulled out all stops to make Diwali larger than life.

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It was not just the basic hardware stores that saw soaring business, but firecracker sellers, garment shops and street-side retailers too witnessed record business.

“Every year we buy a lot of diyas and rangoli colours for the festival.Even though the prices of firecrackers rose this year, we still went ahead and bought crackers such as phuljharis and chain crackers because my son enjoys their light and sound,” said Kishor Sharma, a resident of Moti Bagh.

Some of the largest wholesalers of firecrackers set up shop in Sadar Bazar.

For those who wanted to avoid the crowd there were other options such as the INA Market and Laxmi Nagar that also sold firecrackers on wholesale prices.
“I visited INA Market last year as well. The variety and quality of crackers here is very good. I have bought crackers worth almost R4,500,” said Ravinder Awasthi, a resident of Greater Kailash.

A walk along Connaught Place was also a treat. The entire stretch along Janpath donned a festive getup, and the market was swarming with people investing in everything from new clothes to brass lamps.

“We sold a lot of hanging Ganesh-Lakshmi lamps this year. We have also ordered a lot of coloured glass lamps and some rustic-looking lamps, which add to the festive look when you light a candle inside them,” said Raj Kishor, a shop owner at Janpath.

Across the city, temporary hawkers could be seen sprawled out on pavements, with an array of lights and candles on display.

Several shops inside colonies also stocked up on rangoli colours, diyas, and other accessories.