Cracker of a job

With a week to go for Diwali,the Shrivastavas of Old Delhi are down to business at Imperial Fireworks Co,the oldest in the area.

Buried deep in the chaos on Pai Walan Gali in Chandni Chowk in old Delhi,amid scores of big,small and makeshift stores selling crackers,is shop number 1186. History has failed to wear it down: there is so much hurly-burly it is hard to tell that the building where the shop stands dates back to the quieter nineteenth century; and harder to make out that the shop is one of the oldestselling firecrackers for the last 70 years. Imperial Fireworks Co. has been the family business of the Shrivastava brothers for the past three generations.

Its a Thursday morning,a few weeks before Diwali,and Pai Walan Gali,one of the oldest firecracker markets in Delhi,is preparing for the big day. The road,just round the corner from gate number 3 of Jama Masjid in the walled city,begins when you see no smoking signs,bright-red fire extinguishers and buckets filled with water. Cycle rickshaws are piled high with bright boxes and tourists capture the cacophony on their cameras. A steady stream of buyers trickles down the congested lane. Some stop to shop,some haggle and walk away,and others,mostly children,look longingly at the crackers.

The Shrivastava brothersHarish Chandra,Suresh and Nareshhave now stepped back and let the younger generation run the business. So they sit outside the shop all day,talking of better days. Nothing like the old days. Money means nothing now and firecrackers are just luxury items, says Suresh Shrivastava,69.

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Our father Manoharlal Shrivastava set up this shop. In those days,making firecrackers was considered an art form. He used to make personalised crackers for weddings and other special occasions,like a firecracker that would burst with the sparkles taking the form of the brides and grooms names. Each product had a lot of thought and skill put into it. Now its just about ordering cartons of products,which are all the same,just fancier packaging, says Suresh as his elder brother Harish Chandra grunts in agreement. Inside the shop is a giant,elephant-shaped firecracker made of bamboo and papier mâché that their father made.

Twenty four-year-old Deepak,son of the youngest Shrivastava brother Naresh,manages the shop with his cousins. Ours is one of the few shops in this area that have permission to sell firecrackers all year long. So during other months,our business is patchy,but we sell during weddings and cricket matches, he says. The family no longer makes crackers; they simply place their order with wholesalers.

A family of four walks by and Deepak immediately sits up straight and smiles. After much haggling,the deal is struck. Wishing the family a happy Diwali,Deepak hands them a huge cloth bag.

During Diwali,while everyone is celebrating at home,the Shrivastavas work all day. Naresh Shrivastava,Deepaks father,says,After so many years,we are now used to not being able to take part in the festivities at home. Because this is the most important season for us,we have to open the shop at 9 in the morning and work for almost 12 hours.

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Though the younger Shrivastavas are the ones who run the business,the Shrivastava brothers say they would rather that their children did something else. The money we make during the festive months is not enough to sustain us for the entire year. I want my children to get a job,so they have a steady source of income and minimum risk, says Naresh Shivastava.