Aluminum was an expensive and fashionable new metal in the 1930s, and although silverleaf is more commonly used and cheaper today, Mr. Malkin went for aluminum and authenticity in the restoration by EverGreene Architectural Arts.
The most popular gift is mithai (Indian sweets), and shops are filled with a spectacular array specially prepared for this festival, from thickly cut squares of barfi (a fudge-like sweet, often coated with a thin film of edible silverleaf) , to soft syrupy gulab jamuns (deep-fried balls of dough) and spongy rasgullas (sweetened cream cheese balls flavoured with rose water).