Firecrackers… are a tradition associated with the festival of Diwali which thrills everyone from little ones to elders. However, nowadays there is a lot of controversy regarding whether to burst firecrackers or not. Still, do you know that Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu is called the capital of firecrackers in India. How crackers started being made here, how their business flourished and reached Rs 6,000 crore at one time.
In modern times, firecrackers or fireworks are believed to have originated from China. Gunpowder i.e. gun powder originated between the sixth and ninth centuries. Gunpowder was discovered during the Tang dynasty and this made the manufacture of firecrackers possible. The credit for introducing gunpowder and fireworks to India goes to the Mughals. In the first battle of Panipat, the Mughals came to India with gunpowder and cannon. With this, gunpowder arrived in India.
Sivakasi is the capital of firecrackers (Photo: Getty Images)
Babur brought gunpowder with him to India and by the time of Akbar, fireworks became a part of weddings and celebrations. In China, gunpowder was filled in bamboo and burst, which made a loud sound. In India, bamboo was replaced by small earthen pots and today cardboard and paper replaced bamboo. Which is the form of modern firecracker today. Do you know how Sivakasi became the capital of firecrackers?
This is how Sivakasi became the capital of firecrackers
Before Sivakasi, firecracker manufacturing factories started being set up in Calcutta during the British era. The factories which used to make matches started the business of making firecrackers. Later a factory from here was transferred to Sivakasi. In fact, P. Ayya Nadar and his brother Shamunga Nadar, residents of Sivakasi, reached Calcutta in search of a job in 1923 and started working in a matchbox factory there.
After learning the work for about 8 months, he returned and started manufacturing matchboxes under the names ‘Anil Brand’ and ‘Ayyan Brand’ by importing machines from Germany. Then he launched firecrackers in the market with the same brand name and within no time Sivakasi became the firecracker capital of the country.
Firecrackers are exported from India (Photo: Getty Images)
Firecracker business is declining
At present, about 8,000 small and big firecracker factories are working in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu. Their annual business is also around Rs 1,000 crore. At one time their business was worth Rs 6,000 crore and a large quantity of firecrackers were exported from India to foreign countries. With green crackers and changing times, the way of business here has also changed. In the current era, the firecracker production here has also decreased by more than 40 percent.
