Choosing crackers by age
What we give a four-year-old, a seven-year-old and a twelve-year-old.
Journal
Notes from Ilanthalir Crackers
Guides, care tips and stories from behind the counter.
Storing leftovers safely
Where to keep the boxes after Deepavali, and when to give them away.
Teaching a child to hold a sparkler for the first time
Where to stand, how to hold the wire and what to do when it burns out: the routine we teach at the counter.
Flower pot, chakkar or koti: choosing ground items
How the three favourite ground items differ in height, spread and noise, and which one suits a narrow street or a courtyard.
Deepavali morning in Chennai: planning the early hours
Oil bath, new clothes and the first crackers before breakfast: how families plan the most important morning of the year.
Inside our kids’ pack: how we sort 21 items by age
A look at packing week in Saligramam, and why every little ones’ pack is checked by two people before it is sealed.
Door delivery across Chennai: routes, timings and areas
Which days our van goes where, from Saligramam to Tambaram and Anna Nagar, and how to get your order before the rush.
Pets, babies and grandparents: a gentler Deepavali at home
Practical ways families keep the evening comfortable for those who find noise and smoke hard.
A ₹2,500 Deepavali for two children
Exactly what we would put in a ₹2,500 order for a family with two school-age children, box by box.
Pack lists by age, on WhatsApp.
We send one message with this year’s kids’ and family packs. Nothing else.