11-1-1 is the slogan of Sivakasi in Tamilnadu, the biggest Indian manufacturing centre for fireworks claiming 80 percent of  500 crores worth of crackers and other sparklers India produce. The slogan means Sivakasi works 11 months in a year to produce the fireworks (50,000 tons every year), then it takes one month to distribute the crackers all over India and 90 percent of this is utilised in just one day – the Diwali day.

The history of fireworks in India dates back to Puranic times. But after the Sepoy Mutiny (the First War of Independence), the British did not allow us to dabble much in explosive substances and till the World War II broke out, most of our Diwali requirements were imported from China.

During the years of war, there were no imports of fireworks and this forced the Indian matchstick industry, which began in Sivakasi in the 1920s, to use some of the factories to make fireworks. After the Independence, the craze for Chinese brands continued and it was only in the late 1970s, thanks to local entrepreneurs, that the Indian fireworks industry began to prosper.

The business at Sivakasi with 450 factories is controlled by various families. There are approximately 50,000 full-time labourers and 60,000 ones on contract. The industry, with an investment worth Rs 800-1000 crore, comes alive after Ganeshotsav. It gathers momentum after Dussehra when suppliers begin to distribute the production from their godowns to the agencies in various parts of India.

There is also a huge difference between the manufacturing and selling price of fireworks. According to the sources in the income tax department, marketing of crackers normally carries a profit margin of 100-200 per cent. A cracker which costs Rs five to a manufacturer is normally priced at Rs 50-65 in the market.

Most manufacturers have two catalogues/pricelists – the costlier ones are for Diwali season and the cheaper ones are for the rest of the year. The unsold stock is one thing the industry is scared of, as it dampens the production for the next year. Subsequent to Diwali, the demand, especially for weddings in North India, sustains till the end of May.

Around 75 per cent of the labour force comprises women, most of whom are uneducated. The industry claims that it is doing its best to avoid child labour. Those associated with the factories claim that work is generally safe since most of the crackers do not use acids. Workers eat bananas as a common antidote to guard against constant exposure to chemicals, mainly aluminium. It is interesting to note that most factories offer a banana allowance of Rs 35 per week.

Fireworks could be classified into four categories — noise (crackers), motion (rockets), display (flowerpots) and varieties that combine all these three. Currently, the ratio of colour fireworks to noise crackers is 60:40 and this is expected to change to 80:20.

“In addition, we are confident that our crackers will meet the noise-level restriction of 125 decibel levels at four-metre distance as prescribed by the Supreme Court order in 2001,” says one factory owner.

Further, noisy crackers have given way to ‘multi-shots’ that spew many colours in the sky and are safe and convenient to use. This year, the industry sees a shift in customer preference towards colour and aerial display varieties that paint the night sky with colours and is planning to make more of those.

Globally, the fireworks industry is estimated to be around Rs 10,000 crore. China contributes to around Rs 3,000 crore, whereas India’s share is just one sixth of the Chinese production. The leaders of the industry says that surprisingly, there is no permission to export Indian fireworks overseas.

One of the companies in Sivakasi, Standard Fire Works, had to open a factory in China to export their goods, with the tag ‘Made in China’. “It is a tie-up with the Chinese firms. We secure orders from foreign markets, especially South Africa and the USA and get them manufactured and delivered from China,” says the firm’s representative.

Quality and shipment costs are vital for  the exports. “It costs just $1,600 to ship a container load of fireworks from China to  South Africa whereas it is $4,000 for us in India,” rues the same Sivakasi factory owner.

The Indian fireworks manufacturers have great respect for the Chinese  fireworks industry. “The one crucial aspect in fireworks is the time fuse. The Chinese are good at it. We have to improve in that area,” admits one Indian fireworks expert.

China has been enjoying a lead in the fireworks industry thanks to the chemical combinations used and cost-effective production methods. In India, crackers and fireworks in the country are made of aluminium powder. On the contrary, the Chinese products made of potassium nitrate, giving them an edge over Indian market.

But Sivakasi marches on, Diwali to Diwali with renewed confidence. Of all the accolades Sivakasi has received, the one it values most is the tribute paid to it, by our first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who called it mini-Japan, during his visit to this fireworks capital of India.

Maharaja Features