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The grounds at Our Tampines Hub turned festive yesterday welcoming shoppers to the Deepavali Bazaar.
The 30 booths at Festive Walk East comprise exhibitors from Singapore, Malaysia and India, selling jewellery, ethnic wear, home decor items, sweets and savories and even eco-friendly cutlery.
Bangle maker Shehzad Mohammed from Rajasthan was on site at Hayaat Lac Art to customise bangles according to people's preferences. "Choose any colour and I'll make a set of bangles for you," he was heard telling customers who stopped by his shop.
The contemporary yet ethnic bangles cost between $5 and $25 depending on the work. They come in various colours such as red, green, black and blue. From today till Sunday, he will carry out bangle-making demonstrations.
Singapore booth 7 Chakras, which also seemed to be a hit with the shoppers, sold a variety of products - from exquisite handcrafted jewellery to handwoven and organic cotton saris and kurtis as well as jute bags.
Owner Ms Priya Lakshman, 35, said these will appeal to anyone looking for "stylish and trendy wear and accessories".
Shopper Ms Shanta Rajagopal, who was at the bazaar with her daughter and niece said she got to know about the event from the newspapers and thought "why not drop by to see what's on sale especially since Deepavali is coming".
The 77-year-old bought some Lucknowi kurtis from Exotic Concepts (Lucknow).
Housewives Mrs Ganga K. and Mrs Vijaya Y. were spotted trying on some kurtis from Gopal Hand Printers.
"We want to look good for Deepavali, so we're looking to buy some nice saris, kurtis and jewellery. We will come by once more over the weekend to shop," said Mrs Vijaya, 30.
Ms May Hui, who was "just passing by", said she stopped to browse at the booths because they looked interesting. She ended up spending $30 buying two pairs of silver-with-gemstones earrings.
"It is unique and I feel the quality is good. It's worth the money. All the products reflect the Indian heritage and culture and it's very attractive. I will visit the bazaar again on the weekend," said Ms Hui, who is originally from China and has been living in Singapore for over 20 years.
Apart from festive wear and jewellery, original Tanjore paintings made with 22k gold sheets were also on sale at Craftika Arts & Crafts (Chennai). They cost between $20 and $350.
Owner of the booth Ms Shwetha Kishore, 42, said: "Tanjore painting is an age-old art which has a lot of value in south India. We want to bring this to Indian art lovers here too."
The shopping event, which is being held until Sunday, is organised by Singapore Press Holdings newspapers tabla! and Tamil Murasu and events management company De Ideaz.
Apart from shopping, visitors will also be entertained with performances.
