Quick answer
Sivakasi crackers fall into eight practical families: sparklers, flower pots, chakkars and spinners, children's fountains and novelties, multicolour and repeating shots, comets and sky shots, sound crackers and garlands, and rockets and matches. Ground items are the safest and suit children; aerial items need clear overhead space; sound items are the loudest and are the ones most often restricted by local rules.
How to use this guide
Cracker names sell an idea, not a description. "Dinosaur King Bomb", "Shanghai Night" and "Rainbow Rush" tell you nothing about what will happen when you light them. This guide fixes that: for each family you get the effect, the noise level, the space it needs, and who it is actually for.
Read it once, then open the 2026 product list and build your list category by category. Remember that you choose each item and its quantity yourself — nothing here is a fixed pack.
Sparklers
What they do: a hand-held wire coated in a composition that burns with a bright shower of sparks. The 2026 range runs from short 10 cm lengths up through the longer party sizes, in finishes including electric white, colour, green, red and crackling.
Noise: effectively none. Space: arm's length, outdoors. Best for: everyone, and the single most-bought item in almost every Diwali list.
How to choose: shorter lengths burn for less time and are easier for small children to manage; longer lengths suit photographs, weddings and group moments. Colour and crackling variants cost more than plain electric because of the composition, not the length.
Buy more than you think. Sparklers are consumed faster than any other item, especially with children and guests. Households routinely run out of sparklers while other boxes sit unopened.
Flower pots
What they do: a ground-standing cone that throws a fountain of sparks upward, typically for fifteen to forty seconds depending on size. The 2026 range includes small, big, special, Asoka, deluxe and super variants, plus the colour koti family which produces taller, coloured fountains.
Noise: low, a steady hiss. Space: a flat, hard, open surface with nothing overhead. Best for: family viewing, courtyards and terraces — high visual value for the noise it makes.
How to choose: size maps directly to fountain height and burn time. Special and deluxe variants add colour changes mid-burn. Place them on level ground, never on sand that can tip them, and never hold one.
Chakkars and spinners
What they do: a ground wheel that spins rapidly, throwing sparks in a circle. Spinners are the larger, longer-running relatives; wire chakkars use a different construction for a tighter, brighter spin.
Noise: low to moderate. Space: a smooth, flat surface with a clear radius of two to three metres — a chakkar that catches on a rough surface can jump. Best for: classic ground display, popular with all ages.
How to choose: big and special variants for standard family use; deluxe and super deluxe spinners for a larger gathering where you want a longer run. Always light on concrete or tile, never grass or gravel.
Children's fountains and novelties
What they do: this is the widest part of the 2026 catalogue — small fountains, pencils, chotta fancy items, twinkling stars and novelty pieces sold under playful names. Effects are short, colourful and close to the ground.
Noise: minimal by design. Space: small. Best for: children between roughly five and twelve, under adult supervision.
How to choose: the fountain range gives the best minutes-per-rupee for young children. Pencils and twinkling stars are hand-held and need the same supervision discipline as sparklers. If your list is mostly for children, this category plus sparklers should dominate it.
Supervision is not optional. "Child specials" describes the effect, not a guarantee of safety. Every item in this category is still a firework and still needs an adult within arm's reach.
Multicolour and repeating shots
What they do: a boxed set of tubes that fire a sequence of aerial bursts from a single fuse. Shot counts in the 2026 range run from 15 and 30 shots through 60 and 120 up to 240 shots.
Noise: moderate to high — each burst reports. Space: substantial clear sky, no overhanging balconies, trees or cables. Best for: the centrepiece of a display, apartment associations and functions.
How to choose: shot count equals duration. A 30 shot box is a few seconds of colour; a 240 shot box is a finale. Buy ascending counts if you want a display that builds. Place on firm level ground, weight the base if the surface is loose, and never lean over the box after lighting.
Comets and sky shots
What they do: comets launch a single bright star that climbs trailing colour; sky shots burst into a wider canopy at height. The 2026 catalogue organises these by tube size — 2", 2½", 3½", 4" and 4½" — and by single or double shot, including UV variants that read especially vividly against a dark sky.
Noise: moderate. Space: the most demanding category for overhead clearance. Best for: open terraces, grounds and villages; poorly suited to congested streets.
How to choose: tube size drives height and burst diameter. Double comets fire two stars per tube for more visual density. Series names such as the Forever Collection, M.A.S.B and Hollywood series denote the manufacturer's effect family rather than the size — check the size prefix, which is the part that matters.
Sound crackers and garlands
What they do: the traditional loud items. Individual sound crackers are sold by size — from 2¾" kuruvi up through 3½", 4" and larger Lakshmi variants. Garlands are chains of small crackers on a single fuse, named by count: 100 wala, 200 wala, 1000 wala, 2000 wala and above. Atom bombs and paper bombs sit at the loudest end.
Noise: high, and this is the category local rules target. Space: open ground, well away from buildings, vehicles and anyone standing. Best for: the traditional Diwali morning, temple functions and weddings — where permitted.
Check your local rules first. Many cities restrict bursting to a defined window on Diwali night and prohibit high-decibel items near hospitals, schools and places of worship. Elderly neighbours, infants and animals are affected disproportionately by this category. Buy it deliberately, not by default.
Rockets, matches and essentials
Rockets fly on a stick and burst at height — two-sound, three-sound and Lunik variants appear in the 2026 list. They demand the most caution of any consumer item because their flight path is the least predictable; launch only from a bottle-free, purpose-made stand on open ground, never from the hand and never from a balcony.
Match boxes are the unglamorous line item everyone forgets. Long safety matches and agarbatti are the correct way to light crackers; a cigarette lighter puts your hand far too close. Add them to your list at the start, not as an afterthought.
Category comparison table
| Category | Effect | Noise | Space needed | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparklers | Hand-held sparks | None | Minimal | All ages, everyone |
| Flower pots | Upward fountain | Low | Flat ground, clear above | Family viewing |
| Chakkars / spinners | Ground spin | Low–moderate | Smooth surface, 2–3 m radius | All ages |
| Children's fountains | Short colour bursts | Minimal | Small | Children, supervised |
| Multicolour / repeating shots | Aerial sequence | Moderate–high | Wide clear sky | Display centrepiece |
| Comets / sky shots | Aerial stars, canopy | Moderate | Maximum overhead clearance | Open terraces, grounds |
| Sound crackers / garlands | Report and chain sound | High | Open ground, far from people | Tradition, where permitted |
| Rockets | Aerial flight and burst | High | Very large open area | Experienced adults only |
Building a balanced list
A list that works usually looks like this: sparklers and children's items for volume, flower pots and chakkars for the middle of the evening, one or two aerial boxes as the centrepiece, and sound items only in the quantity your locality genuinely welcomes. Add matches.
For how to compare rates across dealers before you commit, read the 2026 price list buying guide. For lighting each of these safely, see the 2026 safety do's and don'ts.
See all 2026 categories
More than thirty categories in the current catalogue. Choose the items you want, in the quantities you want, and send the list to us.
Browse 2026 Products Ask on WhatsAppFrequently asked questions
Which crackers are safest for small children?
Sparklers in the shorter 10 cm and 12 cm lengths, ground chakkars, small flower pots and the children's fountain range are the usual choices because they stay on the ground or in the hand, burn for a predictable time and produce very little sound. Every one of them still needs an adult standing beside the child.
What is the difference between a comet and a sky shot?
A comet fires a single lit star that climbs and trails colour, and is sold as single-shot or double-shot in sizes such as 2", 3½" and 4½". A sky shot bursts into a wider spread pattern at height. Comets give a cleaner trail effect; sky shots give a fuller canopy. Both are aerial items and need clear overhead space.
What does 30 shots or 240 shots mean on a multicolour shot box?
It is the number of aerial bursts the box fires in sequence from a single fuse. A 30 shot box runs for a few seconds; a 240 shot box runs considerably longer and is normally used as the finale of a display. Higher shot counts need more clear overhead space and a firm level surface.
What is a wala garland in crackers?
A wala garland is a long chain of small sound crackers joined by one fuse, named by the number of crackers it contains, such as 100 wala, 1000 wala or 2000 wala. It is hung and lit at one end, producing a continuous run of sound. Garlands are the loudest common item and must respect local noise rules and permitted bursting hours.
How many categories of crackers are in the 2026 catalogue?
The Sri Selvi Crackers 2026 catalogue is organised into more than thirty categories, ranging from sparklers and flower pots through to comet series, sky shots, repeating shots, fountains, garlands and matches. Customers choose individual items from any category with their own quantities rather than buying a fixed pack.