India, Oct. 19 -- It's that time of the year when we fritter away a fortune in the hope of inviting the Goddess of Wealth into our door. So much of the Dhanteras and Diwali consumerist blitzkrieg is ironically devoted to blowing up wealth to beckon the Goddess of Wealth. Diwali season"s entire economy is egged on by this curious consumerist cycle --- splurging wealth and more wealth, sometimes entire savings, in the appeasement of the Goddess of Wealth, all in the hope of attracting more wealth, so that next season we can fritter away more wealth on a Diwali that's frilly, fatter and fancier. Ah, but there exist societal elements who prefer shortcuts rather than plodding to please the Goddess. Sometimes, shortcuts boomerang. Such was the case in an apartment complex in the capital. While the residents were busy stocking up for this festival devoted to wealth, a certain party exhibited more a propensity towards stealth. So, when the said party thought that no one was looking, they stole off with a booty of jewellery worth Rs.25 lakh from a house. The defrauded residents were but naturally left bemoaning the travesties of the travel itinerary of Devi Lakshmi. Instead of the Goddess of Wealth coming knocking, wealth had travelled out. Lock, shock and spinel. Ah, but the real twist was yet to come in this taste of Kalyug. Behold, bang before Dhanteras, their stolen pink potli with the booty landed back in the complex compound! What worked this wonder is a matter of theorising --- change of heart, a guilty conscience, a tickling by the "honesty is the best policy" dictum? What did the trick perhaps was technology. What instilled a scare perhaps was the public announcement by the constabulary that they would carry out fingerprint mapping, CCTV scanning, etc. Technology tripped stealth, restoring to the robbed residents again the joyousness of this festival of wealth. The curious case of "All that jitters is gold." Talking of jewellery, this is that time of the year when storytelling by brands is at its creative best. For, Diwali ads go beyond building brands, they evoke the emotional arc. The festive ad template is not only about Diwali the festival, it is about Diwali the emotion. It's about storytelling that strengthens family bonds and mirrors newer narratives. In this context, one jewellery ad popping on social media strikes a chord. Among the crowd of commercials parading botoxed babes, who resemble over-bedecked Christmas trees and boast baubles bigger than Donald Trump's ego, this ad stands out for its simplicity, its social messaging. The ad shows a young woman dressing in diamonds seemingly for a date. The younger sister peers in and pesters her to divulge whether there's a special man in her life, who is she going on a date with. The fashion influencer simply smiles and gestures to the image in the mirror. Herself. Riding the sentiment of self-love, it strikes a chord for its emotional arc of empowerment. Its subtle social messaging, with the tagline "Precious, Every Day", drives home the empowerment narrative, that a new-age woman doesn't need to be on a date with a dude to get all dressy. She can be on a date with herself and still get all dressed in diamonds. Talking of festive campaigns, browsing newspapers over breakfast on the eve of Dhanteras or Diwali leaves one grappling with a heaviness. Heaviness not from festive feasting, but from picking the papers. For, they are so loaded with Diwali dhamaka sales and jewellery ads jumping from every page. This kind of weight lifting may not be everybody's cup of tea. It does make one wonder, where is there a need to even suffer this sensory overload of jewellery jollification commercials that drip diamonds faster than the gags on the Kapil show. Why not simply visit the social media pages of the Ambani clan for a taste of rubies and emeralds more bloated than Tharoor's vocabulary. The curious case of "Rock aur Ambani ki Prem Kahani"....