Will it be the Indian diya, or Chinese lights this time again?
Monday - October 28, 2019 11:10 am ,
Category : WTN SPECIAL
WTN- Anything foreign enchants us with their swanky and glittery veneer. We become too dazzled to decide their ills or benefits and fall prey to blind adulation. The same happens during the festival of lights – Dipawali. The earthen vessels, pots and cookware that were once the most commonly used utensils for culinary excellence and purposes of storage, are today almost things of the past. No one in society likes to appreciate or promote the use of earthen material for anything in life.
The arrival of plastics and other synthetic items have ruined the potters and the pottery industry. No one cares for the beauty of earthen creations by human hands and the healthy way of cooking and storing food they provided. Along with earthen pots and vessels, another product that has taken a big beating in the era of glitz and gizmos is the traditional diya as we have known it for decades.
Diwali is round the corner and in times before the onslaught of artificiality and affectation in our lives, the earthen lamps were our only sources of light and pleasure in the festival. They gelled with the festive fervor like nothing else and produced an effect of solace and religious piousness which no modern lighting arrangements can do. The earthen lamps evoked a feeling of sanctity which today’s artificial lightings and even candles can never do. This is an era of designer candles and artificial diyas as well as electronic high-tech lightings, sold and marketed by organised cartels and big manufacturers putting in crores in them.
Our fad for being called ‘trendy’ and mindless emulation of whatever is fashionable in the market has almost killed the traditional diya market in the country which was once a thriving prospect. Lakhs of poor potters and small-time sellers of the earthen lamps who made some money from the Diwali business are today languishing. There is no social protection or trade policy that can safeguard their interests. Instead, our faulty policies have only promoted and made way for Chinese products that are eventually benefitting traders of that country at the cost of our poor sellers.
This is complete colonisation of India by China which we have to spurn at any cost. Even if the government is not heedful or even if it is not in a position to stop this regressive trend of Chinese intrusion in the market, at least we as individuals should do our bid to save our national tradition and better the lives of millions of those small retailers whose business has been eaten away. It is easy and cheap for big businesses to go for mass production of Diwali lights because of which we get cheap availability of the products, but for the traditional maker it is a painstaking toil of months. It is the product of our country’s sweat and blood, our soil and skills, and it is our duty to save and promote them, because if we don’t, who would? There is no second option for these poor traders to go to.
The earthen lamps are environment-friendly and are as durable, or sometime more durable than cheap Chinese electronic options that abound the markets. For the lure of all the glitter and chicanery, we should not dump our own precious assets.- Window To News
The arrival of plastics and other synthetic items have ruined the potters and the pottery industry. No one cares for the beauty of earthen creations by human hands and the healthy way of cooking and storing food they provided. Along with earthen pots and vessels, another product that has taken a big beating in the era of glitz and gizmos is the traditional diya as we have known it for decades.
Diwali is round the corner and in times before the onslaught of artificiality and affectation in our lives, the earthen lamps were our only sources of light and pleasure in the festival. They gelled with the festive fervor like nothing else and produced an effect of solace and religious piousness which no modern lighting arrangements can do. The earthen lamps evoked a feeling of sanctity which today’s artificial lightings and even candles can never do. This is an era of designer candles and artificial diyas as well as electronic high-tech lightings, sold and marketed by organised cartels and big manufacturers putting in crores in them.
Our fad for being called ‘trendy’ and mindless emulation of whatever is fashionable in the market has almost killed the traditional diya market in the country which was once a thriving prospect. Lakhs of poor potters and small-time sellers of the earthen lamps who made some money from the Diwali business are today languishing. There is no social protection or trade policy that can safeguard their interests. Instead, our faulty policies have only promoted and made way for Chinese products that are eventually benefitting traders of that country at the cost of our poor sellers.
This is complete colonisation of India by China which we have to spurn at any cost. Even if the government is not heedful or even if it is not in a position to stop this regressive trend of Chinese intrusion in the market, at least we as individuals should do our bid to save our national tradition and better the lives of millions of those small retailers whose business has been eaten away. It is easy and cheap for big businesses to go for mass production of Diwali lights because of which we get cheap availability of the products, but for the traditional maker it is a painstaking toil of months. It is the product of our country’s sweat and blood, our soil and skills, and it is our duty to save and promote them, because if we don’t, who would? There is no second option for these poor traders to go to.
The earthen lamps are environment-friendly and are as durable, or sometime more durable than cheap Chinese electronic options that abound the markets. For the lure of all the glitter and chicanery, we should not dump our own precious assets.- Window To News
