Festive fineries
Roll out the shopping fun this Deepavali. Make the bonding all the merrier with the entire family in tow.
IT has been madness in Little India in Klang these past few weeks. Traffic has slowed to a crawl and parking is impossible to find. But people are in a good mood because they are all happily shopping for Deepavali.
The shops along Klang’s Jalan Tengku Kelana are buzzing with activity. With lively Deepavali songs blaring in the background, last minute shoppers fill the five-foot ways as they go in search of Deepavali must-haves: traditional outfits, festive decorations, lights and delicacies that are only available during this festive season. To attract customers, textile shops display sarees in all shades of the rainbow on mannequins.
Shoppers bargain for better deals and discounts as harried sales assistants patiently show saree after saree for their customers to choose from.
Among the shoppers is Shamala Selvarajan who is braving the frenzy with her whole family in tow. She has brought her husband Dr K. Siva Kumar and his brother Haresh Kumar Kaliaperumal, her sister Shalini, their mother Ong Hoon Luan, her father Selvarajan Muthiah and her two daughters along for the family’s annual festive shopping trip.
To beat the crowd, Shamala and her family arrive well before 10am.
“Deepavali shopping can be chaotic. Shops are usually packed towards late afternoon. It can be difficult to shop, especially with young children. We try to wrap up our shopping within two hours,” she says.
For Dr Siva, 45, it’s a happy outing for their family.
“Though it can be tiring, it’s a nice to shop with the entire family. We usually spend about half a day buying new clothes and accessories for the entire family. Thankfully Shamala is a very organised and fast shopper. My eldest and second daughter also help us choose clothes for their grandparents and aunts and cousins,” he says.
The atmosphere is festive and everyone even the menfolk - cheerfully try on outfits to find the ones that best suit them.
After deciding on their outfits, the women and girls head off to the accessories section to select earrings and bangles to match their outfits. The men, on the other hand, sit and wait patiently.
For many years, Shamala has made it a point to buy traditional outfits not just for her family but close relatives too. This year, she has purchased 20 sets of clothing for her kin. For her, Deepavali is about creating happy memories and buying gifts for family to spread joy.
“When I was young, my parents used to buy Deepavali clothes for my siblings and I, as well as our extended family. After I got married, I decided to continue this tradition with my husband. It makes us happy to present our loved ones with new clothes for Deepavali,” says Shamala, 42.
Her siblings and in-laws also buy gifts like clothing and jewellery for Shamala’s family.
“It’s always nice to receive gifts from my relatives. My daughters are the happiest as they usually receive several sets of clothing, including kurtis, lehengas and salwar kameez,” says the mother of four children between four and 14.
Also known as the festival of lights, Deepavali is observed by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.
It is the time of the year where families splurge on clothing, jewellery and gifts. Outfits are often in bright colours that represents light and illumination, and attract good fortune and prosperity for the coming year.
“Deepavali is all about bright colours. I usually pick colourful shades
like pink, red, yellow, purple and green for my children. Black and dull colours like grey and brown are a no-no during Deepavali,” says Shamala, who lives in Petaling Jaya.
Women, especially, are spoilt for choice with the wide range of outfits on sale – from sarees to ghagra cholis and lehengas in a wide array of prints that come in silk, cotton, georgette or chiffon, depending on one’s taste.
To keep up-to-date, Shamala turns to social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to determine the hottest trends and colour choices for the festive season.
“Last year, the trend for women’s traditional outfits was a fitted blouse and patiala salwar. This year, the Anarkali salwar suit, comprising flared kurta, fitted pants and shawl, is trending. Another popular design is kurti with palazzo pants,” she shares.
These days, she says, the older women in the family opt for kurtis (indian-style blouses) instead of elaborate sarees or suits.
“In the past, I used to buy sarees for my mother-in-law and mother. But times have changed, and now they prefer wearing kurtis maybe because they are more versatile and comfortable. They are also more affordable compared to silk sarees, lehengas and salwar kameez.
“These days, sarees are more for weddings and special prayers in the temple,” says Shamala.
Shamala, Shalini and Ong spend some time at the cotton silk kurti section shopping for their relatives. Each one has a different preference and it takes a while before the trio agree on the designs and colour choices to get.
“Thankfully, Mummy and Shalini are around to help me shop,” says Shamala who bought a salwar kameez, two kurtis and leggings for herself.
At the children’s section, Shamala starts to look through racks of traditional Indian suits for her children.
The choices are aplenty and it isn’t an easy feat to find something to please each child.
To save time sieving through the racks, Shamala flips through a booklet, containing the latest traditional costumes for children. She then selects pink dresses for her three daughters, Sharannya, 14, Kannyaa, 12, and
Kharmisha, four.
After awhile, Shamala’s son Naqkullan, 10, and two young nephews start to get a bit restless. That’s a sign she needs to shop faster. It takes her only five minutes to choose matching jippa suits for them.
Apart from their new outfits, Shamala bought other Deepavali must-haves: diyas (clay oil lamps), toran (door hangings) and ready-made polystrene rangoli kolam for their home.
“Ready-made kolams save us time and
cost. The rangoli kolam is placed in the porch to invite Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) into the house,” explains Shamala.
Keeping traditions alive is important for Shamala and she makes sure that her children are involved in preparing traditional Deepavali snacks with her extended family.
Recently, about 15 family members gathered at Shamala’s parents’ house in Klang to prepare delicacies like muruku, nei urundai, athi resam and chippi.
“These annual cookout sessions allow us to catch up with each other.
“My grandmother is in charge of mixing the muruku dough, while my aunts are tasked with shaping it into spiral coils.
Mummy is tasked with frying it.
It took us about eight hours to prepare the muruku and other traditional snacks.”
Making the traditional palaharams (snacks and cookies) may be a lot of work, but Sharannya doesn’t mind.
“It’s really fun as everyone helps out to prepare a range of snacks. Our aunts and grandma usually handle the more difficult tasks like frying muruku. Kannyaa and I are assigned simpler tasks like packing the items in tins. We enjoy making ghee balls, especially wrapping it in glass paper.” Everyone is in a happy mood and Shamala hopes the younger generation will understand the meaning behind the traditions.
“During Deepavali, it is important to have a sense of togetherness as a family. We bring our children along for shopping as we want them to learn our family traditions. We hope they will carry on these traditions,” says Shamala.