Diwali gifts still on the shelf next Diwali

The average Diwali gift has a service life of about four days. Dry fruit is eaten, sweets are eaten faster, the candle set is lit once and the fresh flowers are out by the weekend. Somewhere between ₹1,000 and ₹3,000 per person, annually, on objects designed to disappear.

This is the argument for the other kind of Diwali gift — the one that is still on a shelf the following Diwali, doing the same job for free.

Three that survive the festival

The lit lotus aasan — ₹1,499. A handmade lotus, about 40cm across, with LEDs through it, running off USB or batteries. It is made as a seat for a murti and it works equally as a lit centrepiece for the festival. Four colours: rose pink, magenta, marigold yellow, ivory with magenta. The idol is not included.

The lotus with a toran arch — ₹1,899. The same lotus with an arch over it, lit throughout, about 45cm tall with a 6-inch seat. This is the one for a doorway or a full puja setup, and it is the piece people photograph.

The gift box — ₹1,499. Handmade flowers of your choice in an arched bag with a ribbon. This is the one to send to people whose homes you have not seen, because it needs no shelf, no water and no maintenance.

What to send whom

• Family with a puja corner — the lotus, every time. It gets used in November and again all year.
• Friends in flats — the gift box. Small, no upkeep, no obligation to display it.
• In-laws, and anyone being impressed — the toran set at ₹1,899. It is visibly the more serious object.
• Colleagues and teams — the gift box at ₹1,499 per head, minimum ten, in your company colours if you want them.

The dates, which are the whole problem

Diwali is in early November. Everything here is made by hand after you order it, so work backwards rather than forwards:

• Delhi NCR — 2–3 days to make, 1–2 to arrive. Order a week out.
• Rest of India — 2–3 days to make, 3–5 to arrive. Order ten days out.
• Ten or more pieces — allow two to three weeks, and confirm by the first week of October.

The last fortnight before any festival is when handmade stops being possible and everything becomes whatever is already in a warehouse. Order early and you get the thing you actually chose.

Flat ₹49 shipping anywhere in India. Made in Sector 45, Gurugram.