A day in Sivakasi during the cracker season
What to see, where to eat and how to get around if you come to buy at the factory gate in October.
September in the godown on Sattur Road
Twelve people, one long table and every box opened twice: how a Deepavali order is checked and packed.
From the first week of September, our godown on Sattur Road runs from seven in the morning to six in the evening. Stock arrives from the units in shrink-wrapped bundles, and before any of it reaches an order it goes across the checking table.
Kannan and his team of twelve open a sample of every bundle. They count the pieces, look at the fuse on each flower pot and chakkar, press the sparkler coating to see that it is dry and firm, and sniff for damp. A bundle with soft or flaking boxes is set aside and goes back. On a busy day the table handles around 900 bundles.
Then orders are packed in the order they were paid. Each estimate is printed and pinned to an empty carton. Sky shots and multi-shot cakes go at the bottom, standing upright, followed by flower pots and chakkars, with sparklers and garlands on top where they are least likely to be crushed. Gaps are filled with folded newspaper, not plastic, which can build up static. Mallika checks the full carton against the estimate a second time before it is taped.
The last step is the safety card in five languages, laid on top, and the lorry label on the side. Cartons are stacked no more than five high in a shaded bay until the transport van comes at four. If you are in Sivakasi in the season, ask at the gate and we will show you the table.
