Glittering start to festival of lights

BENGALURU: Dhanteras on Friday set the mood for the start of Deepavali celebrations in the city. Given the belief that any purchase of gold and silver is auspicious and heralds good fortune, Bengaruleans made a beeline for jewellery showrooms. Gold jewellery worth an estimated Rs 280 crore and silver articles worth Rs 21.6 crore were sold on Friday alone at 160 outlets that were part of Bengaluru Gold Festival (BGF), organised by Jewellers' Association of Bengaluru, said festival chairman Ramesh Davanam.For Sanjay Talreja's family, Dhanteras is a unique occasion. "Dhanteras comes once in a year, so we don't hold back while shopping for gold and silver. My wife and daughter are too tempted to purchase gold and silver, which eventually burns a hole in my pocket," chuckled Talreja, a resident of Shantinagar who was shopping at a jewellery showroom on Richmond Road.On the other hand, Dr Harivender Kaur, an educationist from Yelahanka, believes that whatever she buys during Dhanteras multiplies later in the year. "It is mandatory for us to buy at least one coin of silver to perform puja on Deepavali. I had a personal experience where I observed that whatever I buy on Dhanteras - gold, silver or diamonds - enhances my purchases for the rest of the year. I try to buy at least a simple item like a chain or a coin on Dhanteras," she said while scanning the glittering contents of the showroom.BGF, which had the tagline 'Save in gold, gold will save you', saw a footfall of over 50,000 on the occasion of Dhanteras. While it started at 5.30 in the evening, customers walked into stores as early as 7am, Davanam said. Several customers booked their desired pieces of jewellery in the morning and collected them from the stores after Dhanteras started."Temple jewellery ornaments are very popular on Dhanteras, and many Bengalureans ended up buying this specific design on a larger scale," Davanam said.