THE VISUALLY delightful spectacle of sparklers, ribbons, ground wheels (chakkars) and flowerpots which light up a child's face and lift people's spirits is something one cannot dissociate with the `festival of lights' or Deepavali. Yes, Deepavali is all about firecrackers and the sparkle it brings to every child's face.
But over the past two years, the sale of fire crackers (wholesale and retail) has certainly been hit, the fire accident last year in a cracker shop in Burgula complex at Begum Bazar being one of the causes. Added to this is the increasing awareness against noise pollution and child labour and the restrictions imposed by the Fire and Police departments following the accident. Following this, 14 shops in cracker business in Mehbub Mansion in Malakpet (considered to be the biggest local market) have been shut down and the numbers of stalls opened in each area has reduced. Praveen and Ramulu, who managed to make huge sums of money earlier by setting up a stall every year at Ameerpet, are finding it difficult now. "It has become hard to get things from Sivakasi. Sourcing them locally is now a little difficult. And, half of whatever we managed to procure was already sold out even before Deepavali. At this rate, we would not be able to make much money," they say.
At Yousufguda, Rajender Goud is unhappy that he could not include new crackers that hit the market elsewhere because of their non-availability. "Otherwise, Hyderabad is a potential market for experimental goods," he says, adding, "now, it is only sparklers, flowerpots, bombs, rockets, ladis (100, 500 and 1,000 ones) and chakkars (both hand and ground), which have always been hot favourites, that are selling the most."
Penchalaiah, another small-time stall-owner at Bowenpally says, "We are forced to sell whatever material is available at higher rates as it is only a one-time profit for us. Once the festival is over, we have to look for other means to sustain ourselves." This explains why adults find buying crackers as per their child's wishes a burden on their pockets. N. Sailaja, mother of 12-year-old Anusha says, "I realised the margin these small stall keepers have when I shopped at a hyper market for crackers. Though the M.R.P. was Rs. 50, we got it for Rs. 11 and the stall owner in our locality refused to give it for less than Rs. 45."
Whatever elders might think, the enthusiasm in children is ever increasing. Says Akash, a class VI student at Yousufguda, "last year, I burst crackers worth Rs. 1,000. But, they got over even before 10.30 p.m. So, this year, I'm going to make papa buy me more." Chip in his 11-year-old friend P. Naveen and his sister eight-year-old Neeraja, "we love firecrackers. And, it is only once a year that we spend money on crackers. So, what's wrong if we spend a little extra? Since last year, we got into this habit of saving up our pocket money for things like these."
However, another set of children is not very keen on crackers. "All our cousins and friends get together at one place and enjoy more by being in each other's company and by symbolically bursting a few firecrackers which are noise-free and pleasant to watch. Of course, we buy a few for our maid's children and sometimes give away some at an orphanage or home for street children," says Sri Deepti, a B.Sc first-year student. Will Deepavali be as colourful as ever is a million-dollar question. But, the smile on every child's face prove the point.
SHANTI NANISETTI
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