Diwali is round the corner and the preparations for the most awaited festival of India has already been started. Since diwali means festival of lights, diyas play a very important role.

The diya sellers of Guwahati have also started selling the handmade diyas and are hopeful of a good market following two years of losses due to the pandemic induced restrictions on celebrations.

One seller at Maligaon, talking to Business Northeast said, “Because of the pandemic we were not permitted to hold stalls. But the festive season are the days when we earn the most. For the remaining months of the year, our earnings are meagre."

The clay artisans at Kamakhya Gate and Maligaon are known for their craft throughout the city. Apart from making diyas or earthen lamps throughout the year, they specialise in flower pots, clay pots, clay tea cups (matka), clay showpieces. As demands for decorative diyas are growing, these traditional artisans are also taking to producing colourfully painted diyas.

Sellers even offer customised ones, that are painted on order.

“From this year I have started making customized diyas and the customer chooses the color of the diyas and we paint them. Golden, red and blue colored diyas are our best sellers”, said Mahesh, an earthern ware seller at Fancy Bazaar.

Since the markets of Fancy Bazar opened after two years the shopkeepers and street vendors are still coping with the damages caused by the two year pandemic. The diya vendors are doing humble sales this year. Though the competition is very tough as there are so many vendors selling their products at very competitive prices, the per day sales are still considered to be quite good.

The price of the basic diya starts at Rs.10 and the prices keeps on increasing depending on the sizes and designs. The big diyas with designs are priced as high as Rs. 250 per piece. However, the prices of premium diyas are negotiable.

“Since Diwali is coming we are doing a minimum business of between Rs.1500 to Rs.2000 per day. Highest per day sale is Rs.5000 to Rs.6000. The prices vary of the diyas as the bigger diyas cost Rs.30 and the colorful diyas start at Rs.50. The premium high quality diyas start at Rs. 250. Customers are buying in bulk and also giving pre orders of their desired colors. If customers take a good number of diyas we give them discounts”, said Hari, one of the diya sellers.

Most of the diya sellers are daily wage workers and do different jobs during the off season, but during festival season they sell diyas which helps them to earn pretty well. The diya sellers of Fancy Bazar generally sell vegetables and fruits.

When asked the reason for selling diyas instead of vegetables, they said that they earn more by selling diyas rather than vegetables during Diwali as the profit margin is more and the crowd for buying diyas are unmatched.

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