The shine of Chinese lamps pales in comparison to Indian lamps, demand for indigenous clay lamps increases in the market on Diwali.

Mumbai: This time on the festival of lights, Diwali, the demand for earthen lamps is so high that potters have to order lamps from other states. After continuous appeal on social media to boycott Chinese goods, people have started giving priority to their traditional goods during festivals. This time there has been a huge increase in the number of wholesale buyers of earthen lamps in Kumbhar Wada located in Dharavi.

With the arrival of Diwali festival, shops used to be decorated with shimmering Chinese chandeliers, but now people are giving more importance to earthen lamps instead of Chinese chandeliers. Amardev, a wholesale buyer of earthen lamps in Kumbhar Wada, said that the customer is now very aware about the Diwali festival, hence he has started preserving the old traditions.

More than 50 varieties of lamps

Seeing the good demand for earthen lamps, potters have also launched decorative lamps in the market which are much more attractive than ordinary lamps. More than 50 varieties of lamps prepared on die are colorful and attractive. The price of colored lamps ranges from Rs 50 to Rs 1000. Apart from this, candle lamps and other special items have also been made.

Idols of Lakshmi Ganesh, Havan Kund, paintings and other decorative items made of clay and clay are also being liked by the customers. Narottam of Mitti Craft House said that the demand for earthen lamps has increased rapidly in the last few years.

Demand for Chinese skirting is less

He said that with the changing times, the trend of celebrating festivals has also changed. Earlier there used to be a lot of demand for lamps during Diwali, but since the arrival of Chinese lamps, the demand for lamps has reduced. It is a good thing that people have now again started giving importance to traditional lamps, this will ensure that the ancestral profession of potters will continue.

In this Kumbhar Wada of Dharavi, the work of making lamps and other utensils continues throughout the year. This takes a lot of time, hence most of the goods are brought from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kolkata. In view of the shortage of soil in Mumbai, finished soil is procured from Rajkot.

been working for five generations

Kumbhar Wada is spread over 12.5 acres of Dharavi where around 1200 Kumbhar families have their homes. The work of making pottery has been going on here for five generations. Rajesh Jethwa, who is handling the ancestral business of pottery, said that pottery making has been going on in Dharavi since the British era.

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Earlier the demand for earthen utensils used to be high but with changing times it has now become a loss making business. We are happy that now the new generation has started giving importance to earthen utensils along with earthen lamps.

People's inclination towards indigenous producers

Electric Merchant Association President Ketan Thakkar said, “There has been a lot of awareness among the public about Chinese skirting boards but Chinese skirting is about 50% cheaper than Indian skirting. We ourselves give more importance to Indian products but since Chinese skirting is cheaper, people buy it only. By the way, about 50% of lighting products come from China. Some traders buy products from China while some get their branding done from China.”

Maya Gaur, president of Mahila Morcha Maharashtra of Shri Jagdeshwar Kashi Seva Trust, said, “In the storm of modernity, we left our mythological tradition and started bursting loud sound crackers along with electric lighting on Diwali. In the scriptures, a lamp made of clay is considered a symbol of the five elements. We should follow our tradition by lighting earthen lamps on Diwali.”

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Kalpana Aggarwal, General Secretary of Shri Braj Sakhi Club, said, “By using Chinese skirting, we are increasing unemployment in our country. Earthen lamp makers are becoming unemployed due to the use of Chinese lights. Decorate the house with lamps. “Lighting a lamp destroys the harmful elements present in the environment and also transmits positive energy.”