Aesthetically clad women, men and children take the centre stage, loud myriad sounds form the background score, sumptuous delights await all, night is transformed into day, and every second a camera flashes away. This is no movie, but a scene of celebration of a festival most looked forward to — Deepavali. And what goes hand-in-hand with the festivities is lip-smacking, drool-dripping sweets and savoury. But in the contest between traditional sweets and chocolates, the latter wins hands-down. The aphrodisiac is the preferred gifting choice for the season and many outlets in the city offer specialised packages for the festival.
Le Chocolatier Chocolate Lounge offers delicious chocolates packages for the festival. The Lounge, located above the flagship The French Loaf store at Harrington Road, has a range of special Deepavali hampers and chocolates created for gifting. The lounge offer edible chocolate greeting cards, which consist of a Deepavali message on a slab of rich chocolate. All delights are made from Belgian chocolate. Most of the chocolates come with fillings such as lemon crème, mango and cardamom, mocha and praline, blueberry, caramel, roasted almonds and more. The chocolates are dusted with premium cocoa and ganache. The range of chocolate hampers is Rs. 250 upwards. For details and bookings, contact The Le Chocolatier Chocolate Lounge at 93603 50943 or 93675 50083.
Dhadha’s Chocolate in T. Nagar has three different chocolate packages for the festival including ordinary box for Rs. 200, special flavoured chocolates for Rs. 350 and French chocolate pack for Rs. 450. Apart for these, the shop also offers an assortment of almond sweets for Rs. 400 and cup cakes in 30 flavours for Rs. 300. Orders should be placed 48 hours prior to the time of delivery. The shop accepts corporate bookings. For details, call 96772 76858/ 96770 05911.
Other delights
CavinKare’s Garden has come out with a new range of sweet and namkeen combination in attractively packaged gift packs. People can choose from combos such as K uch Khatta Kuch Meetha , which consists of one box of savoury and one box of elachi soan papdi; meetha nazarana, which is an assortment of rasgulla, instant bhel mix and soan papdi made from pure ghee; Meetha Magic, which is an assortment of orange and elachi soan papdi; Mithas Ki Saugat, which is an assortment of elachi, orange, pineapple and chocolate soan papdi; and Sweet Treat comprises one tin each of gulab jamun and rasgulla. The festive gift packs are priced between Rs. 115 and Rs. 350 and are available in all leading stores in the city.
Other Deepavali packages
Koolkart, which is an e-commerce site offering fashion outfits and other novelties, has announced special Deepavali packages. It offers combo gift packs for husband and wife, brother and sister, etc. People can shop online for diyas designed in Bombay. They have been made out of clay and crafted paper, which is specially treated so that it does not tear. The site also has Ganesh lamps for the season. Customers can avail a discount of 50 per cent on select kurtis and 15 per cent on lamps. A complimentary candle is sent with every order. The site has a 15-day return policy. The range of lamps starts from Rs. 245 till Rs. 5,000 and the apparel collection is available from Rs. 400. To shop, log on to www.koolkart.com
