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Diwali, the festival of lights, is a vibrant festival filled with a variety of events, celebrations, rituals and pujas. Central to these festivities is the Lakshmi puja, which seeks to invite prosperity into our homes and businesses. This year, the puja will take place on November 1, 2024. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and the consort of Lord Vishnu, blesses us during this time, bringing hope, positivity, and growth into our lives. Diwali thus becomes a refreshing and rejuvenating experience for many. Here’s a simple guide to performing Lakshmi puja at home. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Puja Preparations" comment="subhead" text="Puja Preparations">Puja Preparations</cmsannotation> Before the start of Lakshmi puja, clean your home thoroughly and decorate it. On the day of Lakshmi puja, take a bath, sprinkle Ganga Jal throughout your home and on the members of the household as a mark of purification ritual. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Set up the puja altar" comment="subhead" text="Set up the puja altar">Set up the puja altar</cmsannotation> Place a table or platform or a tripod stand and spread a red cloth over it. Place some grains in the center and draw a lotus in the center of the grains with turmeric powder. Place an image of Lakshmi, Ganesh and on the grains spread on the pedestal. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Install a Kalash" comment="subhead" text="Install a Kalash">Install a Kalash</cmsannotation> Fill a silver or copper pot with three fourths of water. Place some coins, betel nut, raisins, clove, dry fruits, and cardamom inside the pot. Place a bunch of mango leaves on the pot arranging the leaves in a circular fashion. Place a coconut on the pot to finish the set up. Place the kalash on the pedestal along with the idols and decorate it with sindhoor and flowers. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Holy bath and puja to the idols" comment="subhead" text="Holy bath and puja to the idols">Holy bath and puja to the idols</cmsannotation> Give a holy bath to the idols of Lakshmi and Ganesh with pure water, panchamrit (fruit salad in honey), sandal water, rose water and pure water to complete the cycle. Decorate the idols with turmeric powder, sandal paste and sindhoor. Decorate the idols with flowers and garlands. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="79183505" title="Happy Dhanteras 2024 messages and wishes" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Puja and offerings" comment="subhead" text="Puja and offerings">Puja and offerings</cmsannotation> Light the lamp and incense sticks. Start the puja with Ganesh worship. Then worship Lakshmi. Chant the mantras for both the deities and place the offerings in front of the deities. Some of the important offerings for Lakshmi puja include badasha, laddoos, betel leaves and nuts, dry fruits, coconut, sweets, dishes made in the home kitchen, some coins and others. Offer flowers in front of the idols accompanied by the changing of mantras. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Read the story of Laxmi" comment="subhead" text="Read the story of Laxmi">Read the story of Laxmi</cmsannotation> Listening to the story of Lakshmi is an important part of the Lakshmi puja. Let an elderly member or an interested volunteer to read the story of Lakshmi. Others must listen to the story in rapt attention with devotion. At the end of the story session, let all the members offer flowers at the feet of the deities. The story teller will get a gift of a silver coin, sweets and some presents. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Conclude the Laxmi puja" comment="subhead" text="Conclude the Laxmi puja">Conclude the Laxmi puja</cmsannotation> Sing the arati song of goddess Lakshmi and wave the camphor light in front of the idols and kalash. Say the prayers for the prosperity and welfare of the home and pray for the world too. Circumambulate the altar and prostrate in front of the deities. Distribute the puja Prasad among the attendees. You can then enjoy a special meal with your family and guests by starting with the sweets obtained as Prasad. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/diwali-gifting-made-easy-best-tech-gifts-to-give-this-festive-season/articleshow/114507927.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Diwali gifting made easy – best tech gifts to give this festive season</a>

How to perform Lakshmi puja at home

<ul><li><keyword id="188" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diwali">Diwali</keyword> is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains across the country. </li><li>In fact, the various <keyword id="8264189" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="reasons-to-celebrate-diwali">reasons to celebrate Diwali</keyword> don’t just vary from religion to religion, but also from region to region. </li><li>However, the most popular reason is the victory of Lord Rama over the demon king Ravana. </li><li>From goddess Lakshmi’s birthday to laying down the foundation of the Golden Temple, people have many reasons to celebrate Diwali. </li></ul>Diwali or the festival of lights is the most significant festival in India celebrated by millions of Indians. Diwali is considered a Hindu festival but also celebrated by Jains and Sikhs too. There are many historical and mythological reasons behind this great Indian festival. Here are lesser known reasons why different parts of India celebrate the festival of lights - North India celebrates Diwali as the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya. After 14 years of exile, Rama along his wife Sita and brother Laxman returned home.Since it was a new moon day and was dark, his subjects lit diyas across the kingdom that day.This tradition is still followed to this day. In South India, celebration of Diwali varies even among the states. Kerala generally does not celebrate Diwali. Many speculate that this may be because King Bali a virtuous demon king was killed this day. The other three states celebrates the occasion in honor of Lord Krishna's consort Satyabhama killing the demon king — Narakasura and freeing thousands of girls in his captivity. It is celebrated a day before Diwali, and the occasion is called Naraka Chaturdashi. In West India, Diwali is considered as the start of a new year and is predominantly about worshipping the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. It’s the festival of light and wealth, especially in Gujarat Many events related to prosperity like it opening new offices, sealing marriages or buying a vehicles is scheduled for Diwali. It is believed that Goddess Lakshmi comes to their home and blesses them with wealth and prosperity for the coming year. In East India, Diwali is celebrated under the alias Kali Puja in honour of Goddess Durga’s fierce avatar: Kali. Along with Durga Puja, Kali Puja is a big event in Bengal and Assam.

Here are different reasons why India celebrates Diwali

<ul><li>Durga Puja in <keyword id="6357783" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="west-bengal" source="Orion">West Bengal</keyword> is synonymous with fun, enthusiasm and power.</li><li>This year, brands celebrated <keyword id="445934" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="maa-durga" source="Orion">Maa Durga</keyword>’s power, resilience by paying a tribute to Indian women.</li><li>Here are a few campaigns that caught our attention.</li></ul><keyword id="48284" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="navratri" source="Orion">Navratri</keyword> and Durga Puja is one of India’s widely celebrated festivals, especially in West Bengal. Millions of people visit Kolkata every year to attend the four-day festival which celebrates the victory of good over evil. It is that time of the year when every part of West Bengal is decked up, consumers are filled with optimism and joy. Pandal hopping, gorging on foods, <keyword id="3105575" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dhunuchi-naach" source="Orion">Dhunuchi Naach</keyword> (dance with the incense burner) are some of the inseparable moments associated with Durga Puja. This is when the entire local community and tourists come together and celebrate the festival with enthusiasm. Dussehra is followed by Kali Puja/Diwali/Laxmi Puja and Bhai Dooj. It is during Navratri and Diwali that consumers shop a lot and spruce up their houses to welcome Maa Durga. The purchase of household durables, cars, bikes, home renovations, capital expenditures in businesses also see a hike during this period. In keeping with the festive spirit, brands left no stone unturned to celebrate Maa Durga during the nine auspicious days of Navratri. Along with beautiful campaigns celebrating the goddess, we also came across a few brands that have come up with limited edition packaging to become a part of the festivities. Brands also use this opportunity to start a conversation around gender equality. They point out how the irony of celebrating <keyword id="87480" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nari-shakti" source="Orion">Nari Shakti</keyword> and female power for the nine days of Navratri is very stark. As the country bids adieu to Maa Durga tomorrow, for this year, we take a look at how the festival was celebrated in the brandverse. Here are a few campaigns that stood out: Elegant Steel <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Shoppers Stop <div type="Youtube" id="L_toOIXnuJI" title="Shera Sajer Shera Stop | Pujo 2021 | Shoppers Stop" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/L_toOIXnuJI/mqdefault.jpg"></div> ITC Aashirvaad <div type="Youtube" id="5lpFle-skcs" title="Eta Amar Maa" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5lpFle-skcs/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Joy Personal care <div type="Youtube" id="Z-Ixcs4WkL8" title="Pujo 2021 - Joy Beautiful by Nature | Mimi Chakraborty | Joy Personal Care" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z-Ixcs4WkL8/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Tata Tea Gold's new packaging <div type="Youtube" id="AjFo4axK7jg" title="Durga Pujo with Tata Tea Gold Special Edition Festive Packs" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AjFo4axK7jg/mqdefault.jpg"></div> 7UP <div type="Youtube" id="owe2SzTk1c0" title="7UP and Fido is here with some fresh dhak beats!" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/owe2SzTk1c0/mqdefault.jpg"></div>

Navratri 2021: Here’s how brands celebrated the spirit of Navratri across India

<ul><li>While Durga Puja/Navratri is here, this year, the festivites are subdued.</li><li>Brands are therefore excercising caution in where and how much they spend in the next few days.</li><li>However, things are gradually improving and there are signs of recovery, experts tell us.</li></ul><keyword id="6357908" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="durga-puja">Durga Puja</keyword> or <keyword id="48284" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="navratri">Navratri</keyword> is one of the biggest festivals in India and every year the festival is marked by marketers pouring in big monies during the nine days of festivity. Actually the festival is so big in states like West Bengal that streets of cities like Kolkata usually become one big advertising canvas. However, things are different this year. With coronavirus still going nowhere, people are cautious. While every year, the streets become adorned by ads and hoardings from brands from all kinds of industries, because this is the best way to grab people’s attentions, this year, even during the festival, advertisers have been cautious. For the ad and marketing industry which saw a huge dip in investments during the first few months of the lockdown, a lot of hope had been resting on the festive season. However, this year there will hardly be a celebration. Just yesterday, the Calcutta High Court also directed all Durga puja pandals in the state to be turned into 'no-entry zones'. Many pandals in the city are barring physical entry of devotees and making the entire experience virtual. Even in other cities, people are planning to give the festivities a skip. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the nation advised people to exercise caution while going out during the festival. So what does this mean for advertisers? Will they get a bang out of their buck if they advertiser this year? Explaining how things are going to be different this year, <keyword id="3364704" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sujata-Dwibedy">Sujata Dwibedy</keyword>, Group Trading Director, Amplifi India, dentsu international said, “Durga Puja in the east and Navratri in the west, are two of the grandest of all festivals, The festival marks the start of the auspicious period. Dussehra is followed by Kali Puja/Diwali/Laxmi Puja and Bhai Dooj. People shop a lot. The purchase of household durables, cars, bikes, home renovations, capital expenditures in businesses are seen in this period. A lot of business-led decisions are also made around this time. However, this year would be different as people would not step out like before, but they would be hooked on to the media to get a glimpse of the Goddess. So, the media/channel who can give them the best experience would score over the others.” Every year, categories like FMCG, apparel, auto, e-commerce and consumer durables become the biggest spenders during the festive season. But have these brands come ahead and advertised this year? <keyword id="8330648" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sidharth-Parashar">Sidharth Parashar</keyword>, President – Investments and Pricing, GroupM India said, “With demand picking up in Aug-Sep, key categories like Ecommerce, FMCG, Telecom, Durables, Auto and certain segments within BFSI are expected see increased ad spends this festive season. FMCG saw recovery in Jul-Sep quarter, driven by essentials like health-hygiene products and immunity boosting food products. Brands in these categories coupled with discretionary like skin &amp; personal care products are likely to see an uptick in consumer spending and therefore in ad spending too. Consumer durables and Retail are expected to benefit from the govt.’s LTC cash voucher and festival advance schemes, which would lead to increased spending from government employees on products like apparels, laptops, smart phones, consumer durables, home appliances, fitness, jewellery, beauty &amp; personal care during this festive. For Ecommerce sector, RedSeer estimates this festive to surpass a GMV of U$D 7Bn. driven by a surge in shoppers from Tier-II towns, considerable discounts available and financing options being easily accessible to consumers. Large players like Amazon and Flipkart are scaling up their supply chain vendors, fulfillment centres and higher manpower for delivery, in order to meet surge in demand and are spending heavily on TV, digital &amp; Print.” While people might give pandal-hopping a skip this year, they have also started spending money. At this point, people are on the lookout for a change, for something positive and this has led to a visible shift in consumer sentiments in the past few months, Dwivedy added, “We are seeing that market sentiments have improved over the past few months. A surge in online purchases has been witnessed through the various platforms. Indian consumers have started embracing the new normal, and consumption of products is back. There are multiple new categories of products, new convenience food products, health, hygiene-related – all have been accepted and are being tried out. In the last few days, the malls have also opened with new offerings from the shops. Many are offering home delivery, video selections and are even ready to send people home with multiple samples for trials. Home delivery of groceries, foods and other products is preferred. Implying that the emotions have revived, the consumption has begun, however, the mode of consumption is new.” This positive sentiment has led to a month-on-month increase in spends since July across categories. “TV has been almost at the same levels as the previous year. Print, on the other hand, is kind of catching up but it will still take some more time in top metros. Nevertheless, Tier II towns are tracking better. Radio has also picked up. OOH and Cinema that have been worst hit this year should see some relief in this quarter,” she explained. While Television has steadily been seeing an increase in ad spends over the past few months, mediums like Radio and OOH that had suffered a lot during the lockdown are hoping to see some recovery. These are both mediums that see a lot of spends during the festive season in normal years. So how are things this year? Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “The festive season is considered the 5th quarter in India, an auspicious time, for businesses across industries, that contributes 40-45% of sales. Marketers certainly leverage this opportunity with ad volumes showcasing a significant surge. Clearly the most trusted and credible media, this lockdown has helped radio being reimagined amongst the audiences with the overall listenership of medium growing by 30%. The surge in listenership across different TG’s have driven ad volumes across Males, Females, the young and older targeted brands. We have witnessed a rise of 24% in Ad Volumes in week 33 with consistent growth in Ad volume from Aug’20 where average Ad volume surged by 4.8 times as compared to April. With the staggered unlocking of the economy, Radio with its ‘mass local reach’, trusted influencers and digital amplification have witnessed a sharp recovery with certain categories booming more than the others.” However, things aren’t all that great in the outdoor medium and Noomi Mehta, Chairman &amp; MD, Selvel One paints a not-so-rosy picture. He said, “Right now we are at 50% in terms of business when compared to a normal year, and if you compare puja-to-puja, we would be at less than 40% this year. It is true that people are venturing out now and there is an opportunity for brands but they are very cautious.” Every year, especially during Navratri/Durga Puja, brands from segments like FMCG, consumer durables etc go all out and make a lot of noise. “But this year, only those forced to advertise are advertising. For instance, auto brands that are launching new offerings are advertising and currently they are out top advertisers. Every year, we see financial institutes, paint companies, e-commerce platforms and apparel brands also invest in festive but that hasn’t happened this year,” he shared. Despite the fact that brands are cautious in spending, data points towards many cities almost coming to a state of normalcy. Shared <keyword id="2406965" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Atul-Shrivastava">Atul Shrivastava</keyword>, CEO, <keyword id="2911687" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Laqshya-Media-Group">Laqshya Media Group</keyword>, “As far as traffic on the roads is concerned, per data generated through SHARP, Laqshya’s traffic metrics platform, traffic in Kolkata is currently 89-92% of normal times and it is increasing every day. Long traffic jams are also back. So, we see that situation is coming back to normal, aided by the festive season.” However, Shrivastava had something positive to share. He pointed towards signs of recovery, even in terms of ad spends. “Even in the current situation, we are seeing brands in the jewellery, textiles, retail, garments, footwear and the automobile sectors spending their pent-up OOH budgets. FMCG brands are also advertising in OOH media, especially for sanitizing products. OTT platforms and entertainment channels are also investing in OOH media to promote new shows and programs. Hence, even if we do not see 100% spend by clients as compared to last year, current spends are around 60-65%.” On what the rest of the year will look like, Arnab Samanta, Head of Marketing, Graphixstory said, “With the nation gradually ‘unlocking’ itself and with IPL happening around the festive season, the markets are much positive of a revival in the second half of the year. Brands will be spending 1.5 times digitally more than the usual plan of action. The advertising spend will be increased, thoughtful engaging ad campaigns and tech innovations like augmented reality will be introduced to create massive engagement with the target audience. The higher ad spends for various brands will be distributed on a different mix of categories and channels compared to last year, depending on consumer trends and shopping pattern. Digital businesses will now make the way for a sharper trajectory.” While things have still not picked up as much as the ad industry had hoped, the number of new coronavirus infections dropped below 50,000 for the first time in nearly three months in India yesterday. So here’s hoping that things will keep getting better gradually and we will have a better and safer Diwali, one that also brings relief to the industry.

Durga Puja and Navratri is finally here, but are advertisers excited?

<keyword id="4067" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dhanteras" source="Orion">Dhanteras</keyword> is celebrated on the first day of the five day long <keyword id="451596" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diwali-festival" source="Orion">Diwali festival</keyword>. The suffix ‘Teras’ in Hindi is synonymous with the word Trayodashi in Sanskrit which refers to the thirteenth day of the waning phase of the moon. The different rituals connected to Dhanteras aim at praying for the prosperity of the household and the health and long life of the husband. On the day of Dhanteras, many households perform Laxmi puja. Dhanteras sets the auspicious and celebrative mood for the <keyword id="3405" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Diwali-celebrations" source="Orion">Diwali celebrations</keyword>. Here is a highly interesting mythological story connected to Dhanteras. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The mythology story behind Dhanteras" comment="subhead" text="The mythology story behind Dhanteras">The mythology <keyword id="8248231" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="story-behind-dhanteras" source="Orion">story behind Dhanteras</keyword></cmsannotation> Once upon a time, there was a king named Hima who ruled over his kingdom with justice and love as the two tools of his governance. He had a son and the astrologers predicted that his son would face the end of his life due to snake bite on his sixteenth year. A sense of deep anguish tormented King Hima’s heart and he searched for ways to save his son’s life. As per the advice of a renowned astrologer, he got his son married to a girl who had a lucky horoscope. The couple lived happily for a few years. The boy neared his sixteenth year and the king started worrying about the impending death of his son. The girl launches an adventure The astrological predictions said a snake would bite the boy when he stepped into his sixteenth year of life on the earth. On the eve of the boy’s sixteenth birthday, the girl hatched a clever plan to save the life of her husband. She gathered all her jewels and piled them up in front of the main door. She advised her husband not to sleep and she too stayed awake throughout the night. She sat near the entrance of the home guarding the main door. Lord Yama arrives story During the appointed hour of taking the boy’s life, Lord Yama, the god of death arrived in front of the house in the form of a serpent. The snake crawled its way to the main door of the house. When the snake was about to enter the door, the pile of ornaments stopped it on the way. The ornaments were so dazzling that the snake could not see anything around it clearly. Meanwhile, the girl kept singing melodious songs throughout the night. The songs were so alluring that the snake stayed at the doorstep enjoying the songs. The time to take the life of the boy elapsed and Lord Yama in the form of snake had to give up his mission. Thus the witty idea of the girl helped save the life of her husband. Dhanteras was born story This legend gave rise to the event of Dhanteras celebrated year on year on the same day of Krishna Paksha Trayodashi in the month of Kartika just before the Diwali festival. The popular belief among the Hindus has helped continue this holy tradition that says Dhanteras is the surest way to invite prosperity into the household and seek the long life of the husband.

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How to perform Lakshmi puja at home

BI India Bureau

Here are different reasons why India celebrates Diwali

Preeti Soni

Navratri 2021: Here’s how brands celebrated the spirit of Navratri across India

BI India Partner

Durga Puja and Navratri is finally here, but are advertisers excited?

Samarpita Banerjee

Dhanteras 2023: what is the story behind Dhanteras

BI India Bureau

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