“A lantern can give you light only when you light it.”
Munia Khan
Kandil – A Spotlight on Indian Lanterns
Lanterns make our hearts smile. Visuals of bright coloured and patterned lights lift our spirits in an instant! They are a sure sign of festivity, bringing happiness and brightness to any place you see them in. A living room, balcony or garden area, be it in one’s home, a hotel, or an office, comes alive when a lantern adorns it.
Lanterns have existed for thousands of years. It served the purpose of protecting the wick of a candle or a Diya (Indian earthen or metal lamp) from wind. But over time, it gained a decorative dimension. South and South East Asian countries have used lanterns as a tradition during festive occasions.
The tradition of Kandil
In India, lanterns or Kandil appear around the festival of lights, Diwali, and continue till the Gregorian New Year. Entire markets spring up during the festive season to cater to the public demand. One of the largest in Mumbai, and almost entirely a home-business, the market on LJ Road, Mahim West, is a riot of colour and creativity for 10 days a year.
People with other occupations, for the rest of the year, craft these. Families come together and make lanterns as a joint activity for the extra income it brings in. It is inspiring that people with no training or background in either design or art create such impeccable decorative objects. Exact replicas of a design, as if factory-produced, line the streets. They also introduce innovative designs each year to entice the buyers.
Making of the Kandil
What looks uniform and creative on the outside starts from a very basic structure made of thin wooden sticks. Using precise measurements, these glued-together sticks form the skeleton of different three-dimensional cuboid shapes. The most traditional structure being a crystal shape. The traditional patterns have been around since time immemorial. And now, design schools teach the students these as a part of their curriculum.
On the foundation of the wooden structure, a paper or cloth is wrapped to create a canvas embellished with patterns and enhanced with tassels. The cloth could be simple cotton or expensive satin. Even the paper used is varied and colorful. With this base ready, the next step is to add layers and differentiate one design from the other. Techniques of paper-cutting, origami, crochet, macrame are used to beautify the artefact.
Depending on the material and size, a lantern could cost as low as 25 Rupees (US$0.30), or go up to thousands. The best thing about buying a lantern is that it is eco-friendly and stays as a decor element much after the festivities are over.
