Srinagar: Low-key Diwali celebrations notwithstanding, sweet sellers are doing brisk business in Kashmir.
From ‘Karachi halwa’ to ‘sonay ki mithai’, the sweet sellers have introduced new varieties to woo customers.
“For this Diwali, we have put a special offer on our sweets. We have a buy-one-get-one-free offer on the special varieties that we have on offer. The special varieties we have for this Diwali are Karachi halwa, dry-fruit barfi, Mysore pak, besan barfi, and panjiri barfi. The customers like our varieties. We also sell the regular sweets like ladoo, gulab jamun, etc that are routinely sold,” Rohan Sareen of the Haldiram’s at Hari Singh High Street told The Kashmir Monitor.
Residency Road’s famous Shakti Sweets has put on sale ‘sonay ki mithai’ where sweets are covered with a thin layer of pure gold.
“On this Diwali, we bring you special sonay ki mithai where sweets have a pure gold covering. If you look at this barfi, it has kaju, badam, and honey in it but it is also covered with a golden layer,” said a salesman at the sweets’ shop.
He said a few other sweet varieties too were covered in pure gold. “We are selling this sonay ki mithai for Rs. 5100 per kg and people, who want something different for Diwali, are liking these sweets,” he said.
Hindu Welfare Society Kashmir (HWSK) president Chunni Lal Bhat said the Diwali celebrations were low-key but it was good to see some hustle and bustle at the shops selling sweets and fire-crackers.
“After the 1990s, Diwali celebrations have remained low-key in Kashmir. And this year, the celebrations are more subdued. Before the 1990s, we used to witness a lot of the hustle and bustle in the markets throughout Kashmir. Now, you will only find some activity at the few shops that sell firecrackers. You will also find some hustle and bustle at the sweets shops. Though there are just around 600 non-migrant Kashmiri Pandit families in Kashmir, tourists and other non-locals that are here for work or business are thronging the shops selling fire-crackers and sweets,” Bhat told The Kashmir Monitor.