From Sivakasi to Aminabad: how our cartons reach the shop
Factories, transport depots and a hand check of every box: the journey before a cracker reaches your courtyard.
Choosing crackers for young children, age by age
What a four-year-old, a seven-year-old and a twelve-year-old can enjoy, and what they should only watch.
Every Diwali, parents at our counter ask the same question: what can the children light themselves? The honest answer depends on age, and on how closely an adult will be standing beside them. Here is the list Nusrat gives families in Aminabad.
Under five, children should watch rather than hold. They enjoy flower pots and ground chakkars lit by an adult, from a doorstep at least five metres away. If they want to hold something, let them hold an adult’s hand while the adult holds a 10 cm gold sparkler, which burns for about thirty seconds and drops few sparks. From five to eight, a child can hold a 10 cm or 30 cm sparkler at arm’s length, standing on bare ground, with an adult beside them and a bucket of water close by. Teach them to hold it pointed away and down, and to drop finished wires straight into the bucket.
From nine to twelve, children can help light flower pots and koti with a long agarbatti, while an adult supervises. They should step back immediately and never lean over a pot that has not lit. Rockets, sky shots, bombs and garlands are for adults only at every age.
Whatever their age, dress children in cotton, tie back long hair and dupattas, and keep them in closed footwear. Ask at the counter and we will pack a children’s bag of sparklers and small flower pots, chosen with this list in mind.
