A golden opportunity beyond gold!

Time of India

29-04-2025

Aditi Maheshwari is a freelance writer, and has been a student of Economics, Advertising, Marketing, Psychology and also of the Institute Of Company Secretaries Of India. She is a contributor to several magazines. LESS ... MORE
In a world fraying at the edges with scarcity—of trust, values, peace, and even water—Akshay Tritiya arrives each year not as a date, but as a defiant whisper of abundance. 'Akshay' means imperishable or never diminishing. On this day, according to Hindu and Jain beliefs, the laws of decay are temporarily suspended. What you begin today, flourishes. What you give today, multiplies. But in 2025, does the eternal still hold relevance in the temporary?
India's gold demand during Akshay Tritiya crossed 37 tonnes in 2024, with a market value of over ₹25,000 crores, according to the World Gold Council. The digital gold market also witnessed a 26% uptick, with fintech players reporting record purchases via apps like PhonePe and Paytm.
But beneath the glitter of 22-karat emotion lies a silent question: Are we buying abundance or just buying into a belief? The original spirit of Akshay Tritiya was not rooted in consumerism, but in contribution. It was a day to sow—not just seeds in soil, but values into time. The Ved Vyasa began dictating the Mahabharata to Lord Ganesha on this day. Lord Krishna bestowed the inexhaustible Akshaya Patra to Draupadi—an urn that would feed endlessly till the end of the day. How ironic that a day about infinite giving has now become a festival of infinite buying.
The Buddha, in one of his past lives, is born as a kind-hearted hare. On a holy day meant for doing good—similar to Akshay Tritiya—the hare sees a hungry man (actually the god Indra in disguise) and decides to offer himself as food. He jumps into a fire, but the flames don't harm him. Touched by his pure and selfless act, Indra honours the hare by placing his image on the Moon. This story gives a fresh meaning to Akshay Tritiya: when you give with no expectation, that kindness never fades. In today's world, where we measure everything in numbers, maybe what truly lasts is the kind of love and generosity that can't be counted.
For Jains, Akshay Tritiya marks the day when Lord Rishabhanatha, the first Tirthankara, broke his year-long fast with sugarcane juice offered by King Shreyansha. This is not a tale of asceticism alone, but of resilience, restraint, and timing. In today's world of instant gratification, this story doesn't just extol fasting—it teaches the value of conscious consumption, the very thing climate economists have been pleading for.
Akshay Tritiya has always been seen as an auspicious day for property purchases, stock investments, and gold buying. But 2025 offers a deeper lens: India's retail investor base grew to 151 million in 2025, and the number of SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans) crossed ₹20,000 crore/month, a historic high. Akshay Tritiya is increasingly being rebranded by financial institutions as the 'Investors' Diwali.'
In the rural economy, fintech-enabled microloans are being disbursed heavily on this day—seen as a promising date for launching small businesses. Women-led self-help groups (SHGs) received over ₹3,500 crore worth of loans across India in April 2024 alone. The day is morphing from one of ritualistic buying to ritualistic investing, both in capital and causes.
Water, the most akshay element in ancient belief, is now under siege. Reports from the Central Ground Water Board (2024) revealed that 64% of Indian districts face alarming water stress. What once symbolized limitless bounty—be it rivers like the Ganga or the rains of Akshay Tritiya—is now marked with red flags. The greatest irony? Akshay Tritiya's cultural rituals involve gold mining, paper packaging, and water-intensive food preparation—all of which contradict the very spirit of sustainability the day was born from. Could we instead celebrate by planting trees that outlive us or setting up water-harvesting pits that outlast our consumption?
Time to Shift the Narrative from 'Buying for Her' to 'Building with Her' Akshay Tritiya is often dubbed as the 'Women's Diwali' by marketers. Gold sales are heavily targeted at women, reinforcing age-old tropes of gendered wealth. Yet, women in India own just 20% of physical property and have access to less than 30% of total financial credit, as per RBI data (2024). Rather than just giving women gold, can we start funding their startups, education, and legal rights? Let Akshay Tritiya be the day you invest in a girl's college education, not just her bridal trousseau.
Imagine if, just for one day a year, time became your ally, not your enemy. Akshay Tritiya offers that loophole. No astrologer, no planetary retrograde, no cosmic dissonance—this day is free of all celestial flaws. It is the 'Zero Gravity Zone' of Karma. What you begin today becomes your legacy, not just your task.
Whether it's healing a broken relationship, starting a fitness regime, quitting an addiction, or writing a book—April 30, 2025, is your invincible first step. Not because magic happens. But because you believe it will—and that belief is the real akshaya.
Call to Action: Redefine Akshay! So, this year, don't just buy something that glitters. Do something that echoes. Plant a tree. Forgive someone. Write the first page of your book. Open an SIP. Teach a child. Skip the gold, wear courage instead.
Let Akshay Tritiya 2025 be the year the imperishable finds a new form— not in what you own, but in what you dare to start.
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Views expressed above are the author's own.