Behind The Veil

Decoding The Festival of Lanterns, Fireworks and Lights

Every week throughout the year, most Hindus buy a lemon strung together with seven green chillies, popularly known as Nimbu Mirchi, to ward off Alakshmi from their homes, shops, vehicles and everything valuable to them. These are omnipresent throughout the country and are available in every lane and by-lane and even online. From buying the perishable kind from street hawkers for merely a few rupees to buying more permanent ones made out of precious metals for thousands, this amulet doesn’t burn holes in any pocket. These claim to ward off bad luck which not only pacifies the mind but creates a livelihood and a business opportunity for many.  Lore has it that Alakshmi, the sister of goddess Lakshmi is heralded as the goddess of inauspiciousness and misfortune. Spicy and sour are supposed to be her preferred flavours, therefore people hang these right outside their doors and hope that she consumes these flavours and is satiated. This would deter her from entering inside and hopefully prevent the havoc her presence would have wreaked on finances.

It’s imprinted in most of our heads to purchase a Nimbu Mirchi on Saturdays. We spend most of the year worrying that Alakshmi would be an unwelcome guest. On the other hand, we put all our might into ensuring that the nicer of the two sisters Lakshmi, makes our homes her permanent abode, to such an extent that we have dedicated a whole festival to her: Diwali. Lakshmi, antithetical to her sister, is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Unlike Alakshmi she is fond of all things sweet and is enticed into homes by offering her a preparation of a variety of sweet delicacies. Lakshmi is the symbol of wealth, and so most Indian households await her footprints eagerly on Diwali, anything that would alarm her presence would dictate their financial prowess for the year.

As a child who grew up in a typical business-driven household, the celebration of Diwali was of utmost importance for our commercial establishment. Even though I grew up with Amar Chitra Kathas and plenty of retellings of the Ramayana, I would never relate Diwali to the battle of good over evil and Rama’s return from his exile. Diwali would always revolve around the importance of Lakshmi Puja. An anecdote that is etched in my memory is when I was decorating the entrance of our home as is customary during Diwali and a big cat crept on me. As a child who has grown up with a fear of all things furry, my instinctive reaction was to belch in fear but alas I was chided. I had just driven Lakshmi away -  it’s considered auspicious for a cat to enter your home on Diwali as it’s a sign of great wealth to come. And so it seemed I had turned down a sizable fortune. 

To say that beliefs and faiths surrounding Diwali affect an individual’s economic progress is merely just scratching the surface. The impact of this festival on the Indian economy is cascading. The festival of Diwali is enveloped in the fervour of consumption, investment and increased economic activity.  Many industries are directly impacted by this busy shopping season: they include the garment industry, jewellery industry, and food and beverages industry. Even the painting industry witnesses an uptick during the festival as many people re-decorate their homes.  In this article, we shall celebrate Diwali a little early, however, without all the pomp and glamour but through the lens of economics.

The Festive Economy of Diwali:

Diwali marks the Hindu New Year, and for much of India's commerce and business community, it also represents the start of the new fiscal year.  While the festival is a 5 day-long affair, its presence can be felt days in advance for consumers and a couple of months in advance for business folks. The days leading up to Diwali are considered to be auspicious and are a prime time to make extravagant purchases. It is thought to be an especially fortunate time to acquire new assets and make new investments, as well as to shop. Retail therapy is like the chashni (sweet syrup) of the oh-so-delectable and irresistible boondi ka laddoo that is Diwali. During this festive season, goods sell as fast as the piping hot gulab jamuns.

This unique link between India's material demands and spiritual goals is most obvious. The Diwali sales reported in 2020 are a testament to the consumers purchasing during Diwali despite the looming gloom of the pandemic. India’s economic growth reached a 23.9% contraction in April 2020 with consumption down by 24% which contributes to 60% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), of which 35-40% is derived from festive buying. Therefore the expectations from the festive seasons to provide economic returns were at an all-time high. Due to the income crunch induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, purchasing was restricted to necessities for at least 8 months before Diwali.  Staying true to the expectations of many, millions of member enterprises of the Federation of All India Traders across 20 cities raised sales to more than Rs. 72,000 crores ($ 9.7 billion) in 2020, which was 10.8% higher than last season’s reported sales. The Indian economy had been slumping since before the onset of the pandemic, however, the festival provided the economy with momentum that lasted till the outbreak of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The festivals have given a much-needed drive to demand, and both offline and online sales have shown signs of economic recovery. On the days leading up to the festival, India’s online giants Amazon and Flipkart reported a 55% jump in sales from the previous year amount $ 4.1billion, there has only been a reported increase in vehicle registration and credit transactions. While all is still not well with the economy, the flickering diya of Diwali radiated a beam of hope.

Several significant rituals and customs revolve around money and have direct and indirect impacts on various industries and as a result on the Indian economy. In this article, we shall delve into the customs and rituals of the festivals and gauge how their effects reverberate across the economic landscape.

  I.     Cleanliness Is Godliness:

Before the joy of festivities kicks in, the never-ending festive to-do list sets in and the most onerous task on the list is cleaning. A tedious job which most people do not enjoy. This is not just your cursory everyday cleaning: every nook and cranny is washed out and shined, and no cobwebs shall be in sight. Many reasons can be attributed to this practice.

According to popular belief, the goddess Lakshmi resides in cleanliness therefore, it is necessary to ensure cleanliness in homes, offices and shops so that Lakshmi deems it fit to enter. The Hindu calendar also marks the New Year, thus cleaning symbolises a positive beginning, getting rid of one’s old belongings and making space for new Diwali purchases. This festival also marks the end of the monsoon, therefore most people undertake a complete cleaning to get rid of all the insects and germs that accumulate during the moisture-filled season.

Growing up in a joint family, our Diwali cleaning would begin in full steam at least one month before if not earlier. However, a lot has changed between then and now. Earlier, I have a vivid memory of almost finding a new room upturned and all the walls being washed down by my mother and aunts upon returning from school. Even as a child I always regarded this as an onerous undertaking, nonetheless, unfortunately, housewives’ work has never been quantified and never added to the goods and services produced in the economy. Albeit now much has not changed. They are still not accounted for but the chore has been outsourced and serves as a great business opportunity. 

Owing to the pressures of modern lifestyles it has been found that, outsourcing cleaning is becoming the new norm, about 68% of consumers in the 20-35 age group are willing to get professional help and about 54% over the age of 35 feel the need for the same.  In 2016, Urban Company fulfilled about 10, 000 orders in the month of Diwali in comparison to 1200 orders fulfilled in 4 months in the previous year. Another counterpart My didi, clocked 120 orders a day in September, the month preceding Diwali, in comparison to 120 orders received in the month of the previous year. The cost of these services ranges from INR 2.5 per minute to INR 15,000 depending on the intensity of the cleaning.  Broomberg, another cleaning solutions agency reported that 40% of their annual sales are owed to this festive month. In 2018, in Bangalore, House of  Joy hired 300 service partners on weekdays and 1000 on weekends to meet the growing demand. Each booking would fetch on average between INR 3000-INR 5000.

In 2020, cleaning services saw a 30% increase in bookings in the days preceding the festival, the fatigue of performing all house chores during the pandemic may have been attributed to seeking professional help too during Diwali cleaning. Urban Company, reported all-time high bookings of 110,000 in October the month preceding Diwali in comparison to 80,000 bookings received in September of 2020.  The pandemic has caused a lot of companies to push bonuses and performance appraisals. Nonetheless, owing to the elasticity of demand for cleaning services and the success of festive bookings Urban Company advanced its performance appraisals.

  II.     Back To Basics: From Digital To Paper

Accounting systems have evolved over the years and the use of computers has overtaken the use of handwritten accounts. In the preceding portion, we read about how Diwali has sparked employment and tradition has created a new Industry and in this section, we’ll read about how the custom of Diwali keeps an Industry alive. While my family’s commercial establishment is almost completely reliant on Excel and Tally to maintain its accounts, every year on Pushya Nakshatra which is supposed to be an auspicious day to make long-lasting purchases, my father and I venture to the bustling Bohri Ali of Pune.

MR Ghodnadiwala - is the destination of our yearly pilgrimage, on this day the 400-odd square feet shop teems with Hindu business people who purchase registers or Bahi khatas from Bohra Muslims as per tradition. The Ghodnadiwalas have been binding and selling these books for the last 150 years. I remember my first excursion to this place where cultures intersect. Despite leaving on prompt time to make it at the appropriate mahurat time, when we reached the shop, we had to just whiz by because all the parking spots were taken by the buyers who beat us to reach on time - such is this gathering. Upon finding a spot, we managed to shove ourselves inside and purchased our red registers, after which they performed a small puja and handed us our goods tied in red cloth only to be opened for the Chopdi Puja on Diwali. These books are dated from the New Year i.e. the next day of Diwali till next year’s Diwali. An entry in them is made after performing puja on NewYears or Padva as a symbol of an auspicious year.

We came back and I couldn’t help but question the need for the purchase - all I kept saying to my father was that we use a computer, but we barely ever have anything on paper and all he’d say was - it's tradition. Years later, I realised that tradition has kept an industry alive and employs several and it still baffles me. The books start at INR 100, and the production of the book takes place in the market itself from printing and jacketing to the binding. Diwali is their peak season and they sell about 5000-6000 books every year.

While we’ve moved on with time and traditions may have evolved, some rituals are still intact, the tradition of buying account books has been stable and while technology emerges with efficacious solutions, the strength of some traditions creates the deep foundation of many industries.

III.     From Flickering Diyas to Bright Lanterns

As soon as we’d start prepping for Diwali decorations, two camps would be formed in our house, team diya and team lantern. My father and I would be members of the latter and be on our way to Bohri Ali to discover the various types of bulbs and lanterns that would adorn our window grills. My mother and sister have always been strong opponents and venture to the local kumbharwada and pick the most intricately designed diyas. We would all get together after our purchases and work on highlighting our loot and hands down, team diya always won.

The synergy of diyas, lights and lanterns has long been established during Diwali. These products not only illuminate houses and streets during Diwali but also provide a very vibrant addition to the economy. A vendor in Jamshedpur alone sold about 30,000-50,000 diyas during the festive period in 2020, each dozen was sold for INR 12.  In Chandigarh, around 25 families take up pottery during Diwali at Bhaskar Colony.  Some are employees in companies and some are fruit sellers but they set aside their regular work and focus on diya making. They sell 1000 diyas for INR 500. Seasonal employment is created for one lakh people who in turn make, paint and sell over 3,00,000 lakh diyas in a season.

Lanterns or Kandeels and lights have always been a staple Diwali decoration, from plain paper lanterns and bulb lights, these beauties have evolved to jazzy metal lanterns and flickering lights but the sentiment has always remained the same. Generations of businesses are rooted in this art, much like the Raul family of Matunga. They have been hand-making lanterns for 13 years, each lantern takes about two hours to make and they make about 100 of them in three different sizes and sell them to retailers for about INR 500.  Much like other industries this too sees a lot of innovative disruption, In 2018 the Pune market was abuzz with custom-made wooden lanterns which would fetch the maker INR500-INR 1000.

Lanterns and Diyas have always been integral to Diwali, a well-lit house serves as a guiding house for goddess Lakshmi to enter our homes and bring prosperity. These rituals not only spark a light of hope in homes and establishments but also create income and employment for many.

IV.     Goodbye Lopsided Sofa:

Our beloved living room sofa has reached the length of its life and it needs to be laid to rest. However, it still has some breaths remaining, it has no option but to make it till Diwali. The sofa is filled with lumps and bumps and isn’t the ideal option but whenever we look at it in unison we all say - we’ll get a new one on Diwali. This mentality is not merely restricted to my household, it's a thought that echoes in most homes. 

Diwali is a time when most people make big-ticket purchases, invest in homes and re-do their furnishings. This is not only done because it's an auspicious time but because it's also a time when people can expand their monthly budgets. This is possible because those who are employed gain their Diwali bonuses and those running businesses see an uptick in sales thereby increasing profits and as a result earnings. This additional earning and spending are what keeps the Diwali economy cycle moving. Increased pocket size enables people to splurge on expenses that would be considered rather luxurious such as furniture and home decor. 

Owing to this consumer behaviour companies jazz up their marketing in the days leading to the festival, Pepperfry - a home decor and furnishings venture, increased their marketing budget by at least 50-70% therefore, not only would this induce sales for them but they have increased the pockets of the marketing industry which in itself employs thousands of people. Thus going on the circle of economy, Pepperfry expects to derive at least 30% of its annual sales in the festive season.

They were expecting a 100% growth in sales from their previous quarter.  Urban Ladder, another such company focused on their product portfolio and on their full house sale (FHS).  Their FHS in the 2018 season saw a 200% spike in first-day sales in comparison to their 2018. They crossed revenues of almost INR 12 crores and experienced three times more traffic during the festive season .

Such is the spillover effect of this festival, not only does the consumption behaviour induce demand during a specific time but to push the expectant demand further, companies employ tools that not only increase their festive sales but also increase the incomes of all allied industries.

   V.     From Colour To Flowers

In the month leading up to Diwali and till Diwali there is only one activity that leaves a bittersweet feeling. Going to the local mandai to put my hands on an assortment of flowers of many hues. While the lotus is central to the puja alongside marigolds and roses that are offered to the goddess in the various rituals. This was never my agenda, every Diwali my sister and I together compete with ourselves to outdo our previous year’s decoration. Central to this is the main rangoli that adorns the entrance of our home. Some years ago we shifted from using regular rangoli and switched to flowers. While aesthetically that decision seemed spot on, logistically it was not the best. For the rangoli to look its best the flowers have to be purchased on the day of the festival. The problem in this arrangement is that flowers are at their peak price because of their demand and that decoration has now become quite an expensive ordeal.

The prices start to hike as soon as Dussehra arrives. In 2019 the day before prices rose by INR 0.25. The prices of marigolds and chrysanthemums hovered between INR 50-70 per kg and INR 100-150 per kg. Aster was priced at INR 50-60 per kg all these remained in demand despite high prices, these are more or less price inelastic during Diwali, An orchid that cost INR 160-170.  At the Pune agricultural market, gerbera was sold at INR 20-40 per flower and the dutch rose was priced at INR 60-120 per 20 flowers.  Prices in 2020 were even higher than in 2019. An orchid cost INR 250 in 2020 and a gerbera costs INR 180-190.

Flowers do not have any substitute for the actual ceremony, they are also used in garlands that are adorned at the entrance door of homes, establishments and even on vehicles. Therefore, any amount of price increase would not create a decrease in demand. As flowers cannot be replaced in the various Diwali festivities their position in the economy cannot be either, not only do they serve as a business opportunity to garland makers, but to many street vendors, decorators and most important producers. Therefore while they may empty our pockets and leave us high and dry in the circle of the economy they fill many pockets.

Conclusion:

The Festival of Light enters and brightens up the lives of many, while it may provide a provisional solution to many economic blights it does with it bring a sliver of hope. It can create an industry and at the same sustain a long-lost industry. The festival of Diwali is like the Sheshanaga, much like how the Sheshanaga holds all the planets, Diwali holds on to economic prosperity. When the Shesh uncoils time moves forward and creation takes place, once Diwali comes along time flies by and money is created. And when it coils back, the universe ceases to exist, akin to how when Diwali departs some expenses of the festival meet the end of their life the very next day, such as the lit diyas, the offered flowers, the dozens of bought sweets unlike other larger long-life items, leaving room for purchase next year, thus marking the beginning and end of a buying cycle.