Pune: On the one hand, most children are busy shopping for new clothes and accessories for Diwali, and on the other, a selective set is spending a good amount of time in shops in Appa Balwant Chowk, shopping for Diwali magazines. The vacation has begun and children are making sure that they make the most of it by catching up with brand new issues of Diwali Ank (Diwali magazines) that have arrived in the market.Children are spoilt for choice this year with a wide variety of literature including Password, Kishore, Chiku Piku, and many more.Kishore, a monthly magazine by Balbharati, has its edition of Diwali Ank with a focus was on life skills for children. The edition became so popular this year that it has broken all records so far and in a span of 5 to 6 days, they sold more than 10,000 copies across Maharashtra. Editor Kiran Kendre said, We have been overwhelmed with the demand for the magazine this time, and apart from our regular subscribers which are close to 75,000, we sold nearly 10,000 to 12,000 more copies. A bookshop in Appa Balwant Chowk took 13,000 copies last week and they have demanded additional 300 copies on Friday. So, the response is amazing and we are happy that childrens literature is back in focus.Maharashtra has a century-old tradition of publishing Diwali magazines that offer a range of stories to meet every taste __ fiction, fact, science, humour, horror, and childrens stories. It was in 1909 that Kashinath Raghunath Mitra brought out a special Diwali edition of his magazine Manoranjan, which is largely credited as the first Diwali ank. What began as his endeavour in the early 1900s soon became an integral part of the Diwali celebrations in Maharashtra.Children-related content is making inroads into the market. Editor of Password Diwali Ank, Gauri Kanetkar said, Most of these magazines are targetted towards teenagers. We do not focus on any theme, but try to give an all-round flavour of literature to our readers.Chotu, Dhamal Nagari, Chava, Chotu among others are quite popular. Sameer Dangra of Poonam agency at Appa Balwant Chowk said, This year there are nearly 8-10 varied magazines for children. We got a good response.We also published the following articles recentlyDiwali Bazaars show change in shopping trendsAs Diwali Bazaars open for the festival, there have been changes in buying patterns. Families are now purchasing more ACs and TVs for separate rooms rather than one washing machine and refrigerator per household. Mithai manufacturers are also innovating recipes to meet the low demand for heavy mithai laden with ghee. Sindhi women from Kalyan-Ulhasnagar are still sourcing sweets and savouries from shops and travelling to sell them in Mumbai. Additionally, the Sindhi community is facing difficulties in procuring the hatri used for Lakshmi Puja, prompting instructional DIY videos on hatri-making.11,000kg firecrackers seized ahead of DiwaliAhead of Diwali, police in Delhi have seized over 11,000kg of firecrackers, with the largest haul being in the North district. The state government has banned the sale, storage, and manufacture of crackers in the city due to their negative impact on air quality. Police have been working with market associations and deploying undercover officers to identify and raid illegal fireworks vendors. A total of 96 cases have been registered, with 95 arrests made. The ban will be enforced on Diwali day as well.Rs 7,000 Diwali bonus for govt staffDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced a Diwali bonus of Rs 7,000 for 80,000 Group B and Group C employees working in various departments and agencies. The bonus, costing Rs 56 crore, is a gesture of appreciation for the employees hard work and contribution to the governments achievements in different sectors. Kejriwal emphasized that the employees are like family to the Delhi government.

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