Diwali dhamaka, ready-made

BY J.R.PRASAD

Hyderabad, Oct. 27: Time was when mothers used to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare sweets and dishes for Diwali. As children played with firecrackers, womenfolk would bring mouth-watering laddus and gulab jamuns for refreshment. But times they are a-changing’, as the singer crooned, and the era of home made sweets has all but disappeared. Instead, people celebrate Diwali with expensive gift hampers of mithais, dry fruits, jams, sherbets, cookies, exotic chocolates and Turkish coffee. Most women go to work these days and rarely get time to prepare sweets at home. Also, sweet shops offer a wider variety of stuff. No wonder sales in sweet shops increase by 50 times during Diwali season.

"With both partners working, we have to depend on packaged sweets," says Ms M. Gayatri, software engineer in Sum Total Systems in Hyderabad. "We simply don’t get time to cook." Even those women who prepare sweets at home opt for easy-to-make items such as laddoos. "Making sweets is time consuming and tedious," says Ms Padma, a housewife. "If we opt for readymade sweets in sweet shops, we will have lot of variety." And most people still let themselves go during Diwali and eat all kinds of sweets. In the end, they suffer from tummy ache.

In earlier days, families used to prepare a kind of herbal digestive made of ginger, garlic, black pepper and jaggery in order to settle their stomach. Nowadays, people rush to doctors. In fact, doctors get almost an equal number of ‘tummy ache’ cases after Diwali as they get ‘cracker burn’ cases. "Give your stomach a break and go slow on all the sweets or you will land up with an upset tummy," advises Dr Soma Prashant of Owaisi Hospital.

Dr J.V.Rao of J.R.D. Hospital says that one should have sweets that are low in fat and high in proteins. "However, even these sweets should be eaten in moderation as the sugar content is very high," he adds. Of course, you should enjoy the festive season but should not punish your body. Have plenty of vegetables, cereals, and fruits along with sweets. If fact, the health-conscious new generation revellers have already taken to celebrating Diwali with low calorie cookies, chocolates and cakes rather than traditional sweets such as Gulab jamun,jalebi, besan ke laddoo and kaju barfi, just as they opt for designer diyas rather than earthen ones. Also, Diwali without a bottle of beer has become unthinkable for many of the youth. There is huge rush at local liquor stores, pubs and bars and Diwali-eve as well as the festival night.

Similarly, instead of gold, people buy electronic goods such as TVs and DVDs during Diwali. And companies vie with each other to give discount offers to customers. Families also buy furniture and household goods to give a new look to their home during the festival. However, the core traditions still remain intact. The day usually begins with Lakshmi pooja and exchange of sweets with family and friends. At night, firecrackers brighten up the sky and people light diyas outside their houses. And in their hearts, there glows the hope of better times.