The markets in Delhi-NCR are all decked up to welcome Diwali. The market roads are flooded with hawkers selling colourful diya (a small cup-shaped oil lamp made of baked clay), stuffs for worship, organic rangoli colours and idols.
While the non-painted diya ranged somewhere between Rs 30 to 50 for a dozen, a single-painted diya ranged from Rs 10 to 200 depending on the size and design.
As for rangoli (art form where colours are used to design floors), three types of varieties can be found. The first one is the rangoli stickers which as per the shopkeepers is the least favourite among buyers so far.
The other two are hard colour which is used to make freehand rangoli and 'rice' colour which is much finer and is used when designs are created using pattern sheets.
“The fine textured colours can be seen through the designed sieves,” said Manoj, a colour stall owner in Lajpat Nagar Central Market.
For the convenience of the buyers, the hawkers also made packs including the designer sieve and five different colours, ranging from Rs 100 to 500 depending on the size of the sieve and quantity of colours to be used in rangoli making.
But in case, the buyer wants to design their own rangoli, they can also buy the seive and colours separately. While the sieve starts from the range of Rs 30 and goes upto Rs 500, the smaller packets of colours can be bought for Rs 10.
Notably, unlike last year, no roadside shops of firecrackers have come up so far in the area. In fact, the hawkers who sold firecrackers have put up a stall of diyas and other decorative items.
