Almost everybody in India is eagerly looking forward to Deepavali which falls this week.  While most Hindu festivals are celebrated only or mainly by Hindus Deepavali is one festival which is celebrated even by other religions as well, because Deepavali is not just a festival it goes beyond it as things like bursting crackers gives lot of enjoyment and that is why even other religions take part in celebrations. I recall that of having stayed in a house in my which our co tenant was a Christian and landlord a Muslim and the fact that is that the number of crackers burst by us were nothing compared to the numbers burst by them. While all of us eagerly looking forward to Pavel we do not realize that we are also being eagerly watched to by a few big people and those are shopkeepers who leave no stone unturned in trying to pull us towards them. Some Shopkeeperswho are eagerly waiting to make business on our account are:-

Wholesale Cracker shop outlet owners:- Gone are the days when the head of the family or earning member is required to go to a shop to buy crackers himself or give money to his wife or children to get the same.  These days the crackers come to the workplaces.  There are many whole sale merchants and come to office with the sample of a cracker box and a price list with a very attractive discount structure.  The wholesale merchant also gives you option of a box which contains all items or can be ordered item wise as per our choice.  What is more important is that the items are door delivered at your workplace. It is a ideal win win situation for both the shop keeper and the customer as he takes care of yourself by having the crackers delivered to your place and that too at a far cheaper price than what you had to pay had you gone to a retail shop outside.  The shop keeper also  takes care of himself by getting bulk money for himself by making everybody from your office and nearby offices buy from him.

It is not only the cracker shops which make merry but even shops dealing in household items and other electronic items makes as they come with offers of heavy discounts and free gifts.  It is also the appropriate time for shop keepers to move slow moving electronic items like outdated models of mobile handsets and dvd players.  The huge discounts offered by them help them to lure customers to liquidate items which other wise would have been impossible. Almost every household item like television, refrigerator, water filter, washing machine is bought by people after having seen advertisements in newspapers of heavy discounts and free discounts.  Many people may think that the shop owners are crazy to sell those items at such low prices but one must also imagine how much of investment he would have recovered during that period for him to re invest.

Sweets:- Sweet shop owners have the luxury of not having to run behind customers as they know that their shops will be jam packed by customers by Deepavali time as Sweets are almost mandatory at every home in Deepavali. However sweet shops give customer the luxury of sugar free sweets for some customers who cannot consume sugar items.

Chocolate Shops:- It is chocolateshops which have been the biggest beneficiary of this festival for they know corporates would prefer them over regular sweets as their items are almost non perishable. Chocolates though far less tastier than regular sweets are better packed and that gives the chocolate shop owners a huge advantage. Some chocolate shop owners also give customer the option of a free delivery to make them a preferred outlet.

Greeting Cards:- Even in the age of e-greeting there are many who feel the warmth of a greeting card can be felt only through a greeting with handwritten words like "Dear" and "Yours Lovingly".  Greeting card companies make the most out of three festivals and while Deepavali is one of them, the other two are Christmas and New Year. I for one would prefer a Greeting Card over a e greeting as even today I have all the Deepavali Greeting cards sent by my friends.

Saree's and Dress Materials:- A festival without wearing a new dress and incomplete.  Shop keepers know for a fact that it is impossible for women to curb temptation of a good offer especially in a discount sale and that is why shops selling saris and dress materials come up with tempting offers. 

While India is considered a land of festivals and rightly so it is hard to imagine any other festival which keeps shop keepers in all categories as busy as is the case with Deepavali.