Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

Deepavali spirit lights up city

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD OCT. 25. A festive mood pervaded the city as Deepavali was celebrated with gaiety and fervour here on Saturday. The skyrocketing of cracker prices and restrictions on bursting of crackers in public places failed to dampen the spirit as the city came alive with celebrations in the evening.

Cracker shops that sprang up in the lanes and by lanes bustled with activity since morning selling the choicest variety of crackers while roadside outlets had a steady stream of buyers for the small earthen pots and lamps. In a bid to attract customers, several outlets offered lucky dips and assured gifts like silver coins on purchase of crackers above Rs. 500. Crowds were witnessed at all the major markets too and shops selling flowers and other `puja' material were in great demand. Special prayers were held at most of the temples and the devout thronged in large numbers. The shopkeepers were busy cleaning their premises, hanging garlands and tastefully illuminating them for `Lakshmi Puja' in the evening.

Most supermarkets and popular outlets offered special packages and even had lucky dips and a silver coin for those making purchases of Rs. 500 and above. People flocked sweet shops since morning itself.

Keeping in tune with the campaign for a noise-pollution free Deepavali, the use of loud crackers appeared to be slightly less compared to earlier years. The festive atmosphere was further accentuated with the tasteful illumination of all the major thoroughfares for the ongoing Afro-Asian Games.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Hyderabadis left out of city's date with sporting history
• Child swapping: DNA test proves allegations wrong
• False complaints: doctors seek action
• Deepavali spirit lights up city
• New public toilets not accessible to disabled

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu