Try trendy terracotta diyas this Diwali

Shivraj and Rathan Lal cousins from Rajasthan have landed up in the city for a stay of ten days with their bags jam-packed with an array of clay diyas to add extra flavour to the festival.

The lamps with various designs including Swastik, Om, Ganesh, floral motiffs and the like are very creative and attract attention of the passers by. A dozen lamp costs Rs 60 and one can buy half a dozen or lesser number of lamps as per ones requirement.

Speaking to City Herald Shivraj said that this is for the third consecutive year that he is in the city to sell terracotta diyas.

“Our friends and family members sell diyas in almost every city of Karnataka including Bangalore, Chikmagalur, Hassan and Gulbarga. As far as Mangalore is concerned, we have had good business for last two years and the business is just picking up this season. We have brought 31 kinds of lamps with us out of which few are hand made and few are machine made,” says Shivraj.

Apart from the normal small diyas, these street vendors have a good collection of hanging bells, wall pieces, ‘tulsi katte’ and hanging lights. Each hanging light costs Rs 20, while the cost of stunning hanging bells depends on the number of bells in it. If the hanging bell has 3 bells embellished in it, then the price is Rs 60 and the price is Rs 100 for a piece with 5 bells.

Natural hand made hanging light requires a bulb to lighten the place, giving a typical look of ‘goodu deepa’.  There are pure clay lamps as well as lamps painted with different colours.

“We have brought less number of coloured lamps to Mangalore, while our fellow mates have carried more of coloured lamps to the neighbouring Udupi district,” said Shivraj.
Shivraj and Rathan Lal will stay in Mangalore till the eve of Diwali and vacate the place once their purpose is served.

The vendors who have come from distant land of desert have found no other place to rest in the city but the footpath. However they make no issue out of it as Shivraj comfortably says: “It does not matter where we stay as we have come here just to sell our products and not to spend a lavish holiday.”

One can find these diya sellers at Lady Hill just opposite to Mangala Stadium striving to eke out a living.