The street of lights

Potters and artists sit hunched over clay pots,diyas,and other decorative items on either side of the lane. Shop-keepers are busy arranging,rearranging and dusting their wares. Their children play with the half-made clay idols and the elders sit around idly. Gajender Kumar,31,who has been working with his father since he was a child,says,“The tastes of the customers have changed a lot over the years. Earlier,painted diyas were very popular. Now we have to come up with new and innovative designs all the time.” He also speaks of the most popular ‘items’ this year. “The wax diyas that float on water are the most popular this season,” he says.

Suresh Kumar,a forty-year-old entrepreneur who manufactures diyas and pots,too has noticed the trend changing. He says,“Since we’ve started selling diyas filled with wax,our sales have gone up. Since now,the customers don’t have to spend their time,energy and money in filling all of them with oil.” He also adds that even the smallest of the wax filled diyas burn for an hour. His “workshop”,which produces around five lakh diyas all year round,is situated a couple of kilometres away at Kotla Pilanji.

So what does Diwali mean to these potters? Jitender and Naresh,11,with their fingers and faces smeared with paint,giggle as Jitender says,“We only help our father after school,” but before he could finish,Naresh,smears his brother with a dollop of paint,and we hastily retreat before getting caught in a paint fight.