<p>The Diwali tradition of north India seems to have caught on in the city with consumers increasingly switching to healthier dry fruits from ghee-laden sweets. Instead of offering and gifting sweets to friends and guests, people are showing a marked preference for dry fruits despite soaring prices. According to market sources, this has led to a 10 to 15% increase in the sale of dry fruits this Diwali.</p> <p>Shopkeepers admit that though a large number of Keralites may not have completely done away with sweets, health-conscious consumers are slowly reducing the quantity of sweets and replacing the same with dried fruits. "Instead of buying a kg of sweets, we now split it between sweets and dry fruits," said Chetan Shah, a Kochi-based Gujarati said. Cashew nuts, almonds, pineapple, kiwi, apricot and other fruits are in huge demand as they can be preserved for long.</p> <p>"In our hypermarket, the sale of dry fruits increased from 150kg during Diwali last year to 200kg this year. Cashew nuts and badam top the preferred list for consumers," said an official with the Lulu Hypermarket. Ketan N Parekh, owner of Best Dry Fruits in Mattancherry, said, "There is large demand for cashew nuts this Diwali. Since sweets that are brought from other states have a short shelf life, they can't be stored for long."</p> <p>Gujaratis, Sikhs, Tamilians, Punjabis and other communities have made arrangements to celebrate Diwali on Wednesday.</p>