Dhanteras, Akshaya Tritiya and new utensils: the tradition, and how to choose

Dhanteras, or Dhanatrayodashi, is the first day of Diwali in most of India. It falls on the thirteenth lunar day (trayodashi) of the dark fortnight of Ashwin or Kartika, depending on the calendar a family follows.

The day honours Dhanvantari, the god of Ayurveda. In Hindu tradition he rose from the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan) holding a pot of amrita, the nectar of immortality.

Homes are cleaned and lit for Lakshmi, and the day is widely held to be auspicious for new purchases, especially of new utensils. A new vessel brought home is taken as a sign of good fortune.

Since 2016, India's Ministry of AYUSH has also observed Dhanteras as National Ayurveda Day.

Akshaya Tritiya falls on the third lunar day of the bright fortnight of Vaishakha, in April or May. Akshaya means never diminishing, and the day is held to need no further astrological reckoning: it is auspicious in itself.

It is kept for beginnings. In Maharashtra it is one of the three and a half most auspicious days of the year (the sade-teen muhurta), when people start businesses and buy houses.

The tradition asks for something new; it does not ask for something costly. The pieces that carry the custom best are the ones used every day or every pooja.

Families also give these pieces on the day, to a newly married couple or a new home, so the same list serves for gifts.

• For the pooja room: a kalash or a lota in copper or brass, or an urli to fill with water and flowers.
• For the table: a thali with katoris and a glass, in kansa or brass.
• For water: a copper bottle or jug, filled with plain water each night.
• For the kitchen: a patila, kadhai or masala box. Cooking vessels in brass or copper must be tinned (kalai) inside.

Copper is the traditional metal for water and for the kalash. Brass makes cooking vessels, pooja ware and serveware. Kansa, the bell-metal bronze, is the traditional metal to eat and drink from.

The comparison guide sets the three side by side, and the checking guide shows how to tell solid metal from plated in a minute at the shop counter.

Dhanteras is also a day of cleaning. For brass and copper, tamarind or lemon and salt brings back the shine; kansa usually needs only soap and water. Never scour a tinned inside.

The cleaning guide gives the method for each metal, and for old, blackened pieces.

Shops that sell for Dhanteras, Diwali and weddings order before the season. Send the product codes and quantities early, with the date you need the goods, so the quotation can confirm dispatch.

Every product on this site has a code, and every size its own. A kitchen list or the gifting page is a quick way to build an order.