Traditional diya losing its sheen to fancy Chinese lights

Sukhmeet Bhasin

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Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 8

With Diwali just round the corner, city residents have started purchasing festival goods. But the invasion of Chinese electric goods into Indian markets has made the traditional earthen lamps (diyas) take a back seat. 'Diyas', which are considered auspicious, has now slipped off the priority list of festival shoppers.

The traditional diyas are losing their sheen as they face a stiff competition from the Chinese dazzling lights, which have flooded the markets. Residents prefer fancy Chinese lights as they are not only cheap but also easy to put up and glow all through out the night. Chinese lights are fast replacing the earthen lamps made by potters.

While once the festival of lights was an opportunity for them to do brisk business, this year, artisans are a worried lot due to the slump in the sale of diyas. "This year, my family has crafted only 1,000 diyas and even though this number is low, we are worried that even these might not get sold," said Rajesh, a potter.

The potters said, "The poor sales of diyas were due to designer electric lights and decorative diyas flooding the markets. Designer diyas are fast replacing clay ones. People are not ready to pay Re 1 or Rs 2 for a clay diya but are happily spending Rs 10 to Rs 20 on a designer one."

Manoj Kumar, an entrepreneur with three decades of experience in running the business of earthen lamps, said: "People avoid taking the pain of putting oil in diyas, which are a part of our tradition. Moreover, the input cost of earthen lamps has risen to such an extent that it has become difficult for the manufacturers to sell earthen lamps at low prices. We are facing the brunt from both sides." Potters have claimed that the festival was losing its sheen for them with each passing year. "So far, I have sold only 200 diyas. If the scenario continues, I will 

stop making diyas from next year. Making small beautiful diyas is a tiring job but the poor sales reflect that people no more value our work," said Jyoti, potter.