Diwali, a festival in India is just around the corner with less than a few days. It is the most important festival in the Hindu religion. Diwali in Jaipur is celebrated with full vigor and enthusiasm it being the festival of light. People buy gifts as well as household items, clothes etc on this festive occasion. Shopping spirals around Diwali quite like Christmas in the rest of the world where it is celebrated. As soon as Diwali ends, the wedding season starts, therefore Diwali is the start of the festive season.

Going with the popular opinion, the preparation for the festival this year lacks the usual zest & enthusiasm one usually gets to see around this time. Is it because of economic slowdown? Or is it because people now prefer to buy everything from online portals and e-com sites and not visiting the markets? Tough question to answer.

Let me show you pictures from the local market depicting the preparations for the festival of lights – Diwali.

Festive exhibition season starts a month before Diwali. There are many lifestyle exhibitions being organized in Jaipur selling fashionable clothes, dress wear, accessories, showpieces, and jewelry. These pictures are from the handicraft exhibition held in Jaipur.

Cane furniture is usually sourced from North East India and has a very niche market. While earlier, it was considered a cheap alternative to the regular wooden furniture, it’s not the case anymore! These hand-made cane furniture products are expensive, but still, cost a lot less than the regular wooden furniture.

These are unfinished pieces of clay & earthen pots from the backup stock of a vendor. Once these are painted & finished, they look amazing!

Khurja ceramic pottery from Khurja, Uttar Pradesh. Inexpensive and beautiful, the vendors have a huge variety to show. You can find everything and anything -bathroom sets, teacups, coffee mugs, spoons, hangers and what not?

You will find many traditional shops selling dry fruits in Johari Bazaar Jaipur. The display which invites people to pick it up and taste the samples is the most popular way to entice customers for the festive season.

Dry fruits are all-time favorite gifts for the Diwali season. While the modern format supermarkets and stores sell pre-packed dry fruit boxes at various price points, the customers of a traditional bazaar like the Johari Bazaar in Jaipur shun such options. Quality conscious buyers prefer to sample before buying. They inspect and make a choice from the huge assortment available in the market. The sheer variety available in such markets cannot be matched by any supermarket or modern format stores. You can customize the quantity of each variety and create any permutation & combination, unlike prepackaged boxes where quantity is determined by the price point. Many traditional shop owners now also offer pre-packed dry fruit boxes or gift boxes. What’s your choice?

What is Diwali without  Diyas or Deepak? It’s symbolic of the shine it brings to the life of people.

Painted Diyas for Diwali at a potter’s shop in Jaipur Bazaar.

I’m positive that festive mood for Diwali in Jaipur will set in and will shine on the city and people!

Read: What Makes Jaipur One Of The Best Places For Celebrating Diwali In India?

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