Types of Diwali Crackers Explained
Updated August 2026
A plain-language tour of every cracker category, so you know exactly what you are buying before you add it to your list.
Handheld items: sparklers and pencil candles
Sparklers are the safest entry point for children and are sold by length — 7 cm up to 50 cm. Longer sparklers burn for longer and are easier to photograph. Fancy sparklers use multi-stage compositions so the colour changes as they burn.
Ground items: flower pots, chakkars and fountains
Flower pots (pooloo) sit on the ground and throw a cone of sparks upwards. Chakkars spin flat on a smooth surface. Fountains are the larger cousins of the flower pot, running longer and throwing higher.
Ground items give the most colour for the least noise, which is why they dominate most family orders.
Aerial items: rockets and multi-shot cakes
Rockets launch from a bottle or pipe and burst overhead. Multi-shot cakes, usually just called 'shots', fire a whole sequence of aerial bursts from one fuse — a 30-shot box handles an entire finale by itself.
Aerial items need open sky, firm level ground and nothing overhanging. Check the permitted hours in your city before using them.
Sound items and novelties
Sound crackers, bijilis and garlands are the traditional loud finish to Diwali night. Novelties cover everything else: colour smoke, whistling items, character pieces and combination products that do two things at once.