New Delhi, Oct 17 (UNI) Deviating from the traditional custom of buying gold on Dhanteras, consumers on Tuesday made a beeline at jewellery stores, going for the 'girl's best friend' - Diamonds, than the conventional yellow metal. According to jewellery shop owners, lot of people were coming, asking for nose rings, ear studs, bangles, heavy necklaces and bulky sets, which were selling like hot cakes Another Goldsmith chipped in to say that they had received bulk orders online, including pre-bookings, while sales, which were already bumper, were expected to get even better during the evening hours, once the office-goers made way their to the markets. Asked about the impact of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002, they opined that since the jewellery sector was not directly under the PMLA Act, they were secure. One of the young consumers, a girl in her mid-20s, said she was apprehensive of buying jewellery after GST, expecting rise in prices, but she said she was comfortable now, knowing that GST would make the system transparent, while making the jewellery shop owners more accountable for their items, which was a good thing in the long run. A housewife said they always buy gold on this day. 'The one factor, which works in our favour is the gold rate, which usually dips on Dhanteras, making our choice of jewellery affordable.' 'Today's gold rate stood at Rs 30,856 for 24 Karat and Rs 28,826 for 22 Karat,' her husband said.Trade analysts said Dhanteras, which marks the beginning of the five-day Deepavali festival in the country, brings with it the festive spirit, complete with fervour, gaiety and pomp. However this time, it also lifted up the stock market, which was witnessing a slowdown for the last few days. Even the Dusshera festival, marking the victory of good over evil, failed to make an impact on the Sensex. But, things became better today and were expected to remain the same throughout the month, with the wedding season approaching, the analysts added. Sensex closed to 32,609.16 points today, down by around 25 points, better than last month, when it had crashed down badly. The analysts said people find investing in gold as a safe option. The liquid asset gives them a sense of security and promises good returns, when they have to sell it. Besides, the yellow metal assured 10 per cent returns to its buyers last month, they added. The word Dhanteras is made up of two words - Dhan, which means wealth, and Teras, which means the 13th day of the month. According to Hindu calendar, Dhanteras falls on the 13th lunar day of Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in the month of Ashwin. The day is also known as Dhanatrayodashi or Dhanvantari Trayodashi. As per the Indian tradition, the goddess of wealth Lakshmi and the god of knowledge Ganesha are worshipped on this day. On the day of Dhantrayodashi, Goddess Lakshmi came out from the ocean of milk during the churning of the Sea, also known as "Samundra Manthan". The god of wealth Kuber is also worshipped on this day. The day is also celebrated as Dhanvantari Trayodashi, because Dhanvantari (the lord of medicine) emerged from 'Samundra Manthan' carrying a jar of the elixir on this pious day. UNI RJ SHK 1954