Dharwad: People of
Dharwad who had to do away with a series of festivals due to Covid-19
pandemic and heavy rain, are trying to leave behind the bitter memories and have geared up for the 'Festival of lights'.
The four-day festival began on Friday evening with the worship of water containers followed by Naraka Chaturdashi on Saturday. Members of family were greeted with arati before sunrise and then offered a sumptuous breakfast followed by delicious lunch in the afternoon.
According to some almanacs, ‘Amavasya’ begins on Saturday evening and they are performing Laxmi Pooja on Saturday itself. The
Deepavali Padya falls on Sunday while the government and other offices have declared holiday on Monday as some almanacs state that Padya is on Monday.
People thronged the markets to purchase new clothes, jewellery and home appliances among others.
Houses and business establishments have been illuminated with colourful sky lamps and clay lamps.
As part of the festival, the Dharwad market is wearing a new look. The buzz word for this Deepavali is “celebrate the festival by adopting eco-friendly measures”. The traditional earthen lamps which were side-lined with the introduction of plastic lamps, are finding more buyers now. Makers of clay lamps have painted lamps with attractive designs and colours.
Subhas Road, which is a hub of commercial activities, is wearing a colourful look with sky lamps of various designs, shapes and sizes.
The tradition of exchanging gifts and shopping is very popular during Deepavali. People are going out of their way to splurge themselves and their loved ones as it is associated with prosperity. Most manufacturers and suppliers have launched their products and are announcing attractive schemes to attract people.
Companies selling home appliances are witnessing a boom.
The sweet marts too are doing brisk business. The housewives who were preparing traditional north Karnataka delicacies like undi, chakkuli, avalakki, karchikai and chiwda for Deepavali are now finding it easy to buy them from shops.
Home appliance showrooms are offering a wide variety of attractive discounts and gift hampers, and are witnessing increased footfall.
There has been restriction on bursting crackers by the district administration and it has had its impact. While some people concerned about increasing air and noise pollution have decided not to burst crackers, they are unable to convince children about the ill-effects of crackers.
Business activities which had suffered due to the pandemic and unprecedented lockdown are slowly bouncing back to brisk business as people are going out all out for frenzy shopping.
Caption: People throng Subhas Road in Dharwad to buy sky lamps and other materials for Deepavali (TOI)