Shopping for Bombs
If there is something that simply cannot be recreated anywhere else in the world, it is the mood, the excitement, and the vitality of Diwali celebrations in India. It's absolutely magical! Experiencing the real Diwali after a gap of 20 years made it even more memorable. Sure, we missed not having our family around but you can't have your (eggless) cake and eat it too.
Shopping for Diwali firecrackers was an adventure in itself. A huge playground had been converted into a firecracker mall of sorts where you could shop for all sorts of Diwali goodies to your heart's content. And I was told that each locality had its own mega mall. There were prepackaged, ready-to-go sets, with assorted firecrackers, all nicely wrapped up in a "gift" pack. Talk about savvy marketing in Sivakasi! Each package had the MRP (that's maximum retail price) clearly marked on it. No haggling--you simply paid 40% of MRP. And prominently shown on each box was the disclaimer that "no child labour was used to produce the product." Most of the glossy boxes bore pictures of scantily-clad Brittney Spears and similarly attired non-desi women. The product names were a blast (no pun intended) too! There was the "Patriot" bomb, the "SCUD", the "Agni Varsha", but strangely enough I didn't find any "precision-guided missiles". Maybe, that'll be in next years line up. India's come a long way. Someone was telling me that many of these firecrackers are designed in Sivakasi and produced in China. Who says India cannot outsource!
The variety of firecrackers was enormous; probably enough to pack a dozen Safeway stores. I think there was enough firepower to blow up a small country! It did cross my mind that maybe this is where Bush should have been looking for the WMDs that had gone "missing." The most popular items were the colourful, noiseless, Fourth-of-July type of pyrotechnics fireworks. Never before had I witnessed a Diwali sky lit up with such a heavy concentration of fireworks. Wish you were here to enjoy the visual treat.
Shopping for Diwali firecrackers was an adventure in itself. A huge playground had been converted into a firecracker mall of sorts where you could shop for all sorts of Diwali goodies to your heart's content. And I was told that each locality had its own mega mall. There were prepackaged, ready-to-go sets, with assorted firecrackers, all nicely wrapped up in a "gift" pack. Talk about savvy marketing in Sivakasi! Each package had the MRP (that's maximum retail price) clearly marked on it. No haggling--you simply paid 40% of MRP. And prominently shown on each box was the disclaimer that "no child labour was used to produce the product." Most of the glossy boxes bore pictures of scantily-clad Brittney Spears and similarly attired non-desi women. The product names were a blast (no pun intended) too! There was the "Patriot" bomb, the "SCUD", the "Agni Varsha", but strangely enough I didn't find any "precision-guided missiles". Maybe, that'll be in next years line up. India's come a long way. Someone was telling me that many of these firecrackers are designed in Sivakasi and produced in China. Who says India cannot outsource!
The variety of firecrackers was enormous; probably enough to pack a dozen Safeway stores. I think there was enough firepower to blow up a small country! It did cross my mind that maybe this is where Bush should have been looking for the WMDs that had gone "missing." The most popular items were the colourful, noiseless, Fourth-of-July type of pyrotechnics fireworks. Never before had I witnessed a Diwali sky lit up with such a heavy concentration of fireworks. Wish you were here to enjoy the visual treat.
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