| Chinese lights illuminate the Tricity this Diwali |
2nd Nov 2013
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Chinese lights on display in Sector 18 market, Chandigarh | Photo: T S Bedi
ver imagined a Diwali without the traditional earthen lamps (diyas) and candles? But without the glare of glittering 'Chinese' lights that have invaded the market, any occasion or festivity seems incomplete. Even as some city residents, along with certain NGOs, are gearing up for a cracker-free Diwali in and around Chandigarh, enthusiasts are leaving no loopholes in trying to make it a never-before-seen extravaganza, despite cries of inflation that have plunged the sales of crackers.
Chinese lights are available in variants, like rice lights, LEDs, rope lights and web and have captured the market during the past five years due to a whole range of colour, shape, designs and dimension it offers for the clientele.
At the outset, people were a bit reluctant to go for Chinese lights, for the simple reason that these are not repairable. In this fast-paced world, people have little or no time to go for mending/ repairing defective or non-functional lights. "Now there are four to five among hundreds of electricians who would be available for light-repairing jobs during Diwali season.", says Rakesh Kumar, a shopkeeper who runs a electric goods/gadgets repairs shop in the sector 29 market.
"Lights manufactured in India are almost on the verge of extinction from the market as people prefer to go for Chinese lights. Despite an initial setback, today Chinese lights are durable because of improved quality," said Nitin Aggarwal, another Chandigarh shopkeeper.
The business is growing substantially in terms of cost, sale and profit of these customer-friendly lights. A fair share of credit for this vibrancy in the market goes to some advanced technology.
"The demand is increasing every year, and with new variants added, prices have also increased. Among customers, the most popular are the LED lights that are available in red, purple, green, blue and white and do not fuse easily. The sale has doubled in the last three seasons and the prices too have gone up more than 30 per cent in the last two years. The sale, which was worth 5 lakh three years ago, has shot up to 20 lakh today," said Paritosh Bansal, a distributor in Panchkula.
Indian lights were easily repairable by changing few or sometimes even one bulb. "Repairing the Chinese lights is a hard nut to crack, but who cares, as you may easily get a four meter light for rupees 25 only and investing rupees 100-200 for an annual festival is not unfeasible. The durability of the product, too, has gone up considerably. These lights start from rupees 25 and go up to rupees 200 per meter, which are much in demand," explains Rohit Sharma, a wholesaler in sector 18, Chandigarh.
The situation is similar with laser lights. Shopkeepers say that the Chinese versions are far cheaper and have attractive patterns to offer. This new addition projects different patterns on a surface. "The laser lights are selling at a good pace as a single projector can illuminate the entire house. It can easily cover an area of 400 sq ft from a distance of 20 meters. Priced between 800-900 per box, we have successfully sold more than 30 boxes till now and the response of this particular product is really good," said Sunny Singh, shop owner in sector 35, Chandigarh.
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