SIVAKASI WEATHER
On the first day of Aadi, Sivakasi fireworks industry downs shutters

18-07-2015
18th July 2015

Photo: Dheepanraj

- The Times of India

VIRUDHUNAGAR: Fearing bad luck and inauspicious days ahead, fireworks units in Sivakasi closed their shutters for a day as the Tamil month Aadi began on Friday. It is an age-old custom for the industry to declare the first day of Aadi as holiday.

On the rest of the days of Aadi, the industrialists walk on a tight rope as fear of dreadful incidents loom among them.

Nearly 728 fireworks units, both big and small, in and around Sivakasi declared a holiday for their workers and combined it with the weekend to make it a three-day holiday.

According to people associated with the fireworks industry in Sivakasi, the custom had begun from the time the industry began taking shape in the town several decades ago.

Their ancestors used to tell them that Aadi 1 was an inauspicious day, and that the chance for bad luck continued throughout the month.

"Even when we were children, Aadi 1 was a holiday for the units. Our elders used to tell us that some catastrophe had happened on that day in the past. But till date, nobody knows what exactly had happened," said A Mariappan, a fireworks manufacturer and former functionary of Tamil Nadu Fireworks & Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA).

Over the years, the fear psychosis kept the holiday going, he added.

The manufacturers consider the entire month of Aadi to be dangerous.

Considered as the windiest month of the year, the manufacturers believe that static electricity is more in this month and it can trigger accidents in the units.

Most of the major accidents in the town occurred in Aadi, industrial sources said.

"Wind velocity is high in this month and chances of accidents are high. Fireworks manufacturers keep a watchful eye on their units throughout the month," said T Kannan, secretary, The Indian Fireworks Manufacturers Association.

Aadi is also the month of celebrities and workers may like to celebrate.

With the business witnessing a slowdown this year, many of the smaller units prefer to go on extended holidays like this one to cut cost, sources said.


News & Events
top