Working overtime to lend colour to the Hindu festival of Diwali are about 200 Muslim families. They are busy making `silk' garlands without which the `puja' is incomplete. Time is short, and they have to orders from different parts of Gujarat and even states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Since it's a seasonal business, the families want to earn as much as they can. So everyone, including children, are burning the midnight oil. Nasrullah Haji Abdul Majid's daughters Nasreena Banu and Yasmeena Banu make garlands under their mother Rashida Bibi's watchful eye. ``This is our rozi roti,'' says 10-year-old Rafique, as he makes a multi-coloured string.

The only entertainment is a TV set kept in a corner of the room where women and children work, though it affects work everytime they show a good movie. But when they see Bollywood hero Mohnish Behl wearing a `silk' garland, their faces light up. ``Even heroes use these garlands,'' remarks a pleased Yasmeena.

``After Diwali, the garlands are in demand only during the wedding season or on festivals, but never so much,'' explains Haji Abdul Majid. He is a third-generation garland-maker and this is his only means of livelihood.His grandfather got into the trade after they migrated from Pakistan during the Partition. He has passed on the mantle to his younger son, who now looks after the family shop.

The `silk' used in the garlands is, in fact, waste polyester yarn which comes from the spinning mills of Surat and Mumbai. It is a cheaper substitute and more easily available. From the backyard of the spinning mills to the puja rooms, these garlands go through a long grind.

A roll of yarn is cut into 200-metre pieces, dyed in different colours, dried, cut into shorter pieces of about 20 metres, and then turned into garlands with the help of a simple machine. These garlands are then decorated with colourful foils to make them offerings fit for the gods.

While shopkeepers are reluctant to talk about sales figures, profits are obviously not very handsome. Each of them makes only about Rs 10,000 at Diwali time. ``Retailers reap the fruits of our labour,'' says Haji, explaining that while the garland-maker gets only Rs 4 for a garland, the retailer sells it for not less than Rs 12.

Abid Hussain agrees, but is happy nevertheless. ``It's good these garlands are offered to God,'' he says. Adds Saira Begum, ``This way, we also get to share the `punya''.