As the festival of Diwali nears, households draw up a list of items to be purchased, be it new furniture, clothes, food items or even groceries

It's time to add more kilos to your shopping bags

With merely two weeks left for the festival of lights to begin, most of the households are busy with preliminary preparations. The first and the most important thing before the commencement of any festival is shopping. And if it is the festival of Diwali, then shopping doesn't limit to oneself, it spells shopping for every member of the family and especially for home. From furnishing, lights, food items, etc. this month's shopping bags are surely going to be heavier than the other months, since they would not just have groceries but a lot of excitement packed in. This is one month when not just ladies, but men too will come along for shopping and indeed add in their valuable suggestions about gifts for family members. Swapnita Agashe, a resident of Seawoods informed that the Diwali month means spending more in the supermarket. "Usually, we buy groceries and other monthly utilities, however especially during Diwali there are a lot of additions to the list. Since I make Diwali sweets at home, I have to bring in extra gram flour, jaggery, ghee, dry fruits, etc. and these things add up to a lot. Moreover, we also have to bring in 2-3 litres of oil more than the regular month, since everyday there will be some sweet dish that will be made. Oil is also required to light up the lamps," mentioned Swapnita. Sanpada resident Niharika Singh too seconded the views expressed by Swapnita, saying she brings in at least 2 litres extra oil and 1 kg ghee especially for the month of Diwali. Niharika said, "On the main day when we have Lakshmi pujan at home, we have a ritual to light up ghee lamps throughout the house. Moreover, we also have to purchase a lot of sweet, chocolate and dry fruit packets since we have a lot of guests coming in during Diwali. There's an endless list of friends and relatives who visit our place during this festival; since we mostly have people coming in from our native place during this vacation." However, Himanshu Bhadra, a resident of Kharghar goes slightly philanthropic during Diwali. "I know a few people from the nearby villages in Kharghar and Taloja and I provide them with some stationery objects every year in addition to some chocolates. That's one reason our shopping bags are heavy this month, last year I gave them colour pencils and drawing books, this year I will be buying notebooks and compass boxes. It's always better than giving them money since they spend it in useless things," said Bhadra. Sanpada resident Beena Saikia who is also the president of Sreemoyee Asomiya Mahila Samiti mentioned that Diwali is a very special festival for them, for her home as well as her organisation. She said, "From bringing special lanterns, lamps and sweets for home, we also bring in gifts and groceries. This year for home, I have got lots of sweets and snacks, in addition to earthen lamps, candles, oil, etc. from the grocery store. In fact, it is fun to over fill your shopping bags this season since we always stick to a budget every month, but this month the festival liberates us to shop to our heart's content." Koparkhairane resident Namita Sonavane, said that her shopping bags have double the items this month. "Every month when there's just one packet of oil, a packet each of chips and snacks, this month the items have doubled. And it's indeed fun to shop for festivals I have also got in some kitchen appliances like a blender, chopper this month since there were offers. I also added to the list four boxes of sweets for home and guests," added Namita.