IMPACT OF FESTIVALS ON THE ECONOMY

By: Akankshya Jena

October 27, 2022

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Festivals are the time when people get a break from their busy schedules to sit back and enjoy some quality time with their friends and families. We celebrate festivals all year round and make truck load of memories. In India, this time between September-November witnesses the maximum and variety of festivals celebrated all across the nation. Being a secular nation different cultures are practised in different states which leads to a lot of celebrations if viewed from the community aspect. Festivals are given outmost importance in India as this is the time when everybody is expected to forget all their differences and come together to celebrate wholeheartedly irrespective of being a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian.

Festivals do not just tend to fill our hearts with feelings of joy and fulfilment but they also help in shaping our economy. The festive season also brings with it the tradition of giving gifts and set up of fares all across cities which boosts the economy to a greater extent towards the fourth quarter of a year. This is also beneficial for artisans at the tribal level who see this as an opportunity to glorify their culture and promote their artefacts in the trade fairs during this season. India is known for being very culturally rich throughout the world and at the grass root level we witness the cultural diversity intensify even more as the tribals believe in keeping their heritage alive through the coming ages. Reports and various surveys also lay emphasis on the fact that festivities help boost the economy of any country as it promotes tourism.

It was during Covid that analysts actually understood the contribution of festivals towards the economy. Due to complete lockdown for almost 2 long years the entire world had come to a standstill aggressively pushing all the celebrations to take place within the walls of our homes. This on a very large scale affected tourism as well as the vendors and artisans who used to set up their stalls and these times served them as their only source of income. The income of a large chunk of our population solely depends on the cashflow that takes place during festive seasons. Though Covid also opened doors for the e-commerce market to become the mainstream market but still it failed to completely compensate for the consumer satisfaction that we enjoy by physically visiting shops.

In India during the last quarter when festivals occur throughout the country, economists and analysts tend to take a note of it which further helps them to deduce how well the year is going to do from the economical point of view. Religious festivals most of the time leads to community feasts that helps the economically backward classes to feel at par on a social level. In the book “Poor Economics” the author states that the less privileged classes of the society usually spend a greater fraction of their income in festivals which is a result of abundance of leisure at their hands.

In West Bengal and Odisha during Dussehra and Rath Yatra the pandals and temples are open to everyone, rich or poor which on a very positive note blurs the lines of class divisions the society still practises based on one’s caste. This custom of inclusion practised subconsciously during festivals leads to the betterment of the society in a long run as the poor people will not feel that all their investment in the festivities went in vain. This wholesome participation of an entire community is what truly marks the success of an economy as it makes everybody feel included.

Apart from contributing towards the economy during Durga Puja, Navratri, Rath Yatra etc. a lot of money is also spent on celebrating these events. Various clubs and youth associations on a very small level go on to organise and set up deities in the pandals of their locality. This on a mass level leads to a lot of pandals equivalent to the huge amount of money spent on setting them up.

One may argue that the shops set up in the fares nearby the pandals might balance out the cost spent in the making the sculptures of deities and huge investments but what about the pollution caused? Busy in soaking ourselves up in the festive mode we often tend to forget about the most crucial factor that is, environment. With time we as a society have also grown to develop environment consciousness that has now helped us to celebrate festivals without carrying the guilt of hampering nature in our hearts. The making of sculptures of deities with recycled products has proved to be a great step towards our biodiversity.

At last, I would like to conclude by saying that festivals pose as a great escape from our everyday tiresome routines that forces everyone to come together and celebrate with all pump and joy keeping aside all the indifferences in our heart and minds. The sole purpose of celebration is to help people lower their interpersonal barriers and come together join hands as a community and wish for everyone’s wellness.

By: Akankshya Jena

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