Chennaites opt for a low decibel festival this year

“Last year, rain played spoilsport and sales dropped. A lot of crackers were damaged in the rain during transportation,“says K. Palainisamy of Sivakasi and a Standrd Crackers dealer. He further adds, “We start setting up stalls here 10 days before Deepavali. The business so far has been normal, better than last year. But we have seen better years,” he says. 

The 58 stalls on the Island Grounds sell a wide range of firecrackers. From a toy gun costing Rs 50 to other varieties worth Rs 10,000, everything is available here.  The safety measures are in place with an ambulance and fire engines placed within the premises. Every shop has a fire extinguisher and also buckets of sand. Police personnel were on surveillance, not allowing petrol and diesel vehicles near the shops. To attract more customers, there are many movie and games inspired crackers. “To have an actress, actor or a popular star on the covers only helps attract customer,” S. Durai, another cracker seller. 

While people have spotted Game of Thrones and Pokeman-inspired crackers. At the Island grounds, the options are many. The images of female avatar of Sivakarthikeyan in the film Remo have found a place on posters outside the cracker shops. Stars like Katrina Kaif, Tamannah, Kajal Agarwal and Keerthy Suresh have their images too in many of these cracker covers. But some interesting ones such as the Terminator cracker – a 11 shot rocket, the Fast and Furious Crackers, the Ben 10 double shots, Angry Birds crackers and a set of fireworks have pictures of WWE fighters pasted on them. 

Ask them, how they come up with the idea. S. Suresh, a businessman from Sivakasi says, “We look for the latest trend, take pictures from the internet and then print it.” They also have Deepavali gift boxes with an assortment of crackers. But business is dull, they opine. “Earlier, businessman bought them for gifting and a box could cost anywhere between Rs 1000 to 4000. Now, these sales are down as corporates are going for green gifting options,” says Palainisamy.

YMCA Ground, Royapettah, that has lesser number of shops, too is comparatively emptier only a few people gathered for Deepavali shopping. “I have bought only a few sparkles and avoided loud crackers. I am moving towards a greener DiwaII,” says. S Anju, a parent.