5 best places in Mumbai for last-minute Diwali shoppers

Lanterns at Dadar market. Pic/Satej Shinde

Dadar's Starry Market Maal
We walked into the Dadar market looking for lights. While we did spot stalls that housed those, we were delighted to find a lot more. While strings of marigold lined the crowded streets, we stopped as we spotted gajra that looked different. These ones were made of rose petals and were being sold at Rs 40 per string.

The fragrant rose gajras sold at the market stand out from the rest

Next up, two cheery Maharashtrian women selling earthen diyas in every size possible called out to us. The tiny ones were being sold at Rs 10 for five while the biggest one would cost you Rs 20. We picked an in-between size and shelled out just Rs 20 for six pretty pieces. (We chose four, while two were thrown in free for good measure.)

Diyas made by the artisans of Kumbharwada. Pics/Shraddha Uchil

The smiling stall owner, Yashoda said, "Happy Diwali", while handing them to us. The diyas are made in Kumbharwada before Diwali, every year. The potters, who spend the rest of the year making earthen utensils and pots, create beautiful diyas in all shapes and sizes including ones that are later handpainted and decorated with glitter.

You can choose from multiple carts selling coloured powders for rangoli, displayed in heaps and in cutting chai glasses. Don't forget to stop by stores selling electronic lights in the shapes of lanterns, diyas and shiny disco balls. Also, pick up torans and rangoli stickers. Young Omkar Namugade, who sells these with his father, tells us that this is their seasonal trade.

"My father (Ishwar Namugade) sells caps the rest of the year," says Namugade junior. A small size stick-on rangoli will cost you Rs 20 while a bigger one is Rs 40. The torans sell at Rs 70 per piece. Under the bridge on the road that leads right upto Dadar station, tiny set-ups sell silver stars and multi-coloured lanterns that you don't want to miss.
At: Dadar, Kabutarkhana upto Dadar station (W).

Diwali lights being sold at Bhuleshwar Market. Pic/Shadab Khan

Bhuleshwar's Bright Sparks
Another cool place to pick up your lights, decoration materials, colours and stencils for rangoli, the stick-on versions and the diya is the Bhuleshwar market. Take your pick from the quirky to the traditional and also sample festive eats like shakarpalas and karanjis at the local stores.
At: Bhuleshwar market

Kill it With LED
You can't talk about Diwali lights without the mention of Lohar Chawl. It is here that you will find a variety of options, from fancy fixtures to LED light strips in myriad hues. There are two advantages to shopping here: the products are priced more reasonably priced than other places since its a wholesale market. And, if you still find something exceeding your budget, the shopkeepers are open to bargaining.
At: Matunga (Central) Market.

Lights at the Matunga market. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

It's Mirchi Hot
Not too far from the crazy Dadar market crowds, you can also head to the Matunga market to find shops that sell strings of gorgeous fairy lights and the thinner tinier bulbs known popularly as the Mirchi lights. Each of these stringed beauties, available in varied colours, will cost you between Rs 100 to Rs 150. Putting these in bottles or jars or just stringing them at your workplace, adds much needed festive cheer.
At: Lohar Chawl, near Crawford Market.

(From left) Nandini Vaidya arranges small lanterns her family has made to sell at her home at Mahim's Kandeel Galli; a lantern shaped like Spongebob Squarepants

Home is where the light is
A few days before Diwali, a pavement near Mahim's Citylight Cinema dons its brightest garb and transforms into a shimmering strip of lanterns. Most lanterns are made at Kandil Galli, a tiny lane leading off the street, where every household (including kids) is involved in their making.

When we step in, we see residents working on seven-foot-tall kandils with politicians' faces plastered on them. "We get about 50 orders for big lanterns every Diwali. We sent one off to Nagpur just yesterday," says Amey Kore, as he glues on a strip of gold paper onto the frame.

Ask about the other kinds of lanterns available, and he'll direct you to a house, the ceiling of which is covered with small lanterns in every imaginable colour, perfect for space-starved Mumbai homes. Here, standing under rustling paper curtains in reds, greens, blues, yellows and purples, Nandini Vaidya informs that the tiniest ones sell for Rs 25 a piece. "The bigger ones go for about Rs 500. We've been doing this for around 40 years now. We make about 2,000 small lanterns every year," she said.

If unconventional Diwali lighting options are more your style, Kandil Galli may not be for you, but the stretch outside certainly is. Krishna, who runs a little cane furniture store on the street, sets up a stall selling the most fascinating finds. "The shop has existed for 70 years, but we only started putting out the Diwali stall about six years ago," he says.

We found jazzy spherical lanterns conjured out of translucent plastic, pretty ones fashioned out of bamboo strips, and - further down the road - even an adorable SpongeBob SquarePants, made of paper.
At: Lady Jamshedji Road, near Citylight Cinema, Mahim
To pre-book: For small lanterns: Nandini Vaidya (7208093306)