This year, however, their arrival was delayed as they could not get the mandatory permission from the Surat Municipal Corporation. The reason for this being the Tibetan Refugees Sweaters Sellers' Association (TRSSA) did not contact the right people in the SMC.

According to Tsering Nima, president of the TRSSA, a confusion as to which official in the SMC should be contacted and the communication gap because of the language barrier led to the delay.``We came here immediately after Diwali, but set up stalls today. This is the first year that I am the president of the sweater sellers and didn't know the right people to contact,'' he told Express Newsline.

While some blamed the rains, which lashed Surat until late last week, for the delay, others felt that it was the SMC, which had not given them permission to set up stalls this year.

Meanwhile, people have started queuing the stalls right from day one. Contrary to popular beliefs, none of the sweater-sellers are from Tibet. According to Nima, while a sizeable number of the sweater sellers hailed from Himachal Pradesh, others were from Karnataka and came here regularly every year. ``All of us reside in India. While some of us migrated here from Tibet many years ago, rest are from Karnataka,'' he said.

On asked where the goods were produced, the sweater sellers said that while they knitted most of the clothes themselves, clothes like jackets were purchased and sold at marginal profits.

Said Mindup, a Tibetan refugee woman, ``People here are very positive and we too reduce prices considerably. So the sale is usually high and I sell clothes worth Rs 750 to 1000 daily.'' Another seller, Tsering Lhamo, admitted that though business was a little flak, he expected it to pick up when winter set in firmly. ``But I miss Himachal Pradesh already and waiting to go back,'' he added.

Though they normally remain here for about three months, they may be forced to extend their stay this time around.

Regularly setting up stalls on road behind Gandhi Baug for the last six years, the Tibetan refugees initially set up shops on the roadside at Bhagal, Chowk and other places.

This year around, the sweater sellers have put up 165 stalls as compared to 152 last year. The SMC collects Rs 22.50 per day per stall as per the agreement with the association, of which Rs 7.50 is for land charges, Rs 10 for setting up a stall and Rs 5 for electricity.

Nima said that the association had yet to pay any money to the SMC and that it would be paid after the refugees sell sweaters and make some money.

``We make an average profit of about 5000 to 6000 in these three months,'' claims a seller. And although they appear to be happy and content, life for them can really be gruelling.