Deepavali: Bengaluru markets buzz with lamps, pots, and healthier sweets

With Deepavali just a few days away, markets across Bengaluru are decked up with new designs in lanterns, terracotta, and LED lamps.

Lamps, pots, and decorative stands with patterns and designs like animal faces, such as elephants, ducks, and turtle motifs, are more common this year, apart from the traditional hand-painted pieces. Vendors say they are introducing new designs to attract buyers to the market, as many customers have been turning to online options in the past few years.

“While regular clay lamps and painted ones are still in demand, especially for pooja rituals, many customers are also choosing decorative lamps and LED lights for home decor. Unique pieces, those that don’t show up at every festival, are drawing people into markets. This mix of old with new designs and colours is helping us maintain market interest,” Mahadevappa G.R., a vendor in Malleswaram, said.  

“We are trying to bring unique elements at minimal prices to bring people to markets. Nowadays, even when visitors are coming, they first check prices and designs online and then come here to compare and mostly go without purchasing,” Sumathi Kanthiraj, a vendor in Gandhi Bazaar, Basavanagudi, said, adding that online prices and accessibility have changed expectations.

“You get 12 lamps for ₹40 online, while here, two painted ones alone cost ₹50. But this is the only time of year these vendors can make some money, so we should still buy from them,” said Meenakshi R., a shopper in Gandhi Bazaar”.

Vendors mentioned that the price of clay and enamel paint has risen by nearly 10% compared to last year, while packing materials and basic supplies have also become costlier. Many sellers admitted that they have had to adjust prices slightly to manage higher input costs, with items like decorative and painted lamps witnessing a slight increase.

Healthy alternatives in high demand

Sweets and dry fruit shops are seeing steady sales. Shopowners, however, say buyers’ choices have changed while picking sweets and that, more than the usual sweets like kaju katlis and laddoos, there is growing demand for healthy alternatives. Jaggery-based millet sweets, ragi laddoos, and seed-mix chikkis are selling faster this season, shopkeepers told The Hindu.

Several confectioners and bakeries have introduced millet-based, palm sugar varieties of muffins and tea cakes to meet the demand for healthier options. “Fusion sweets, such as chocolate-coated barfis, dry fruit truffles, and mixed seed crackers, are finding more takers among younger customers,” another shopkeeper in Ashwath Nagar said.

Customised gifts picking up

Customised gift packs are another visible trend this year. “Instead of large bulk boxes, buyers are more drawn towards compact hampers containing a greater number of things, such as a mix of sweets, savouries, dry fruits, and sometimes accessories like mugs, keychains, or earrings. Many of us have introduced personalised gift options too,” Shekhar M., a shopkeeper said.