<p>Given the wave of anti-cracker sentiment that sweeps the City every Deepavali, it’s not surprising that many Bangaloreans opt for a safer, cleaner way to celebrate the festival. <br /><br />And for those who look around, the options are limitless — at this time of the year, the market is flooded with a wide collection of diyas, candles, lamps and other such ornamental trinkets. <br /><br />While the traditional earthenware diyas never go out of fashion, plenty of homes in the City are decorated with interesting variations. </p>.<p>While some Bangaloreans opt to paint clay diyas with colourful mosaics and other designs, others go the whole hog and pick up designer diyas— a more glittery <br />alternative. <br /><br />Many also choose to light candles instead and given the huge range of scented and coloured candles in the market, they are spoilt for choice. Ranjini, a professional, feels that candles present an interesting twist to the authentic Deepavali decor. <br /><br />“I like to pick up the small, scented candles — they’re available in a lot of bright colours at the Jayanagar 4th Block market,” she admits. She still makes it a point to set out several diyas, though. “I buy my diyas in bulk from Gandhi Bazaar. I like the ordinary clay ones, <br />which come in many different designs. We like to put several of them outside and for <br />that, we pick up diyas which have covers on them — that way, the wind doesn’t pose a problem,” she says. <br /><br />Vikas, from The Candle Shop, explains that the products tend to fly off the shelves at this time of the year. “Basically, we have a lot of traditional stuff — painted candles and even diyas. At this time of the year, people tend to pick these up — especially the diyas, they’re the fastest-selling at this point,” he says.<br /><br />The Malleswaram market also has a huge selection of diyas, which come in myriad shapes and sizes — while some are small and traditional, others are decorated with scalloped edges and electric colours. Shruthi, a professional, says that most of her diya shopping takes place at the old market. <br /><br />“Apart from that, I also like to pick up designer diyas from Chitrakala Parishat — they’re really pretty. There are also some interesting electric diyas in the market, with plastic covers — when the normal ones run out, we tend to use them. They come in bright colours and different sizes,” she adds.</p>.<p>But the safest bet for anyone looking for a wide range of diyas, says Yathindra Lakkana, a professor at NIFT, is Pottery Town. “The scale on which the market operates is huge. <br />In fact, many corporates also approach the artisans there for bulk orders. <br />There’s one particular artisan named Rajashekhar, whose shop is fairly popular. Customers can actually visit his store, tell him the kind of design they want <br />and he will make their diyas accordingly — in fact, a customer can actually <br />make his or her diya and Rajashekhar will put the finishing touches,” he <br />says.<br /><br />There was a time, he adds, when the artisans in Pottery Town tried to get innovative with their produce — but these days, earthenware diyas seem to be selling the most. <br />“At one point, they were actually selling Plaster of Paris diyas — but I don’t <br />think there was much demand for that. So now, everyone sticks to the earthenware ones,” he sums up.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Given the wave of anti-cracker sentiment that sweeps the City every Deepavali, it’s not surprising that many Bangaloreans opt for a safer, cleaner way to celebrate the festival. <br /><br />And for those who look around, the options are limitless — at this time of the year, the market is flooded with a wide collection of diyas, candles, lamps and other such ornamental trinkets. <br /><br />While the traditional earthenware diyas never go out of fashion, plenty of homes in the City are decorated with interesting variations. </p>.<p>While some Bangaloreans opt to paint clay diyas with colourful mosaics and other designs, others go the whole hog and pick up designer diyas— a more glittery <br />alternative. <br /><br />Many also choose to light candles instead and given the huge range of scented and coloured candles in the market, they are spoilt for choice. Ranjini, a professional, feels that candles present an interesting twist to the authentic Deepavali decor. <br /><br />“I like to pick up the small, scented candles — they’re available in a lot of bright colours at the Jayanagar 4th Block market,” she admits. She still makes it a point to set out several diyas, though. “I buy my diyas in bulk from Gandhi Bazaar. I like the ordinary clay ones, <br />which come in many different designs. We like to put several of them outside and for <br />that, we pick up diyas which have covers on them — that way, the wind doesn’t pose a problem,” she says. <br /><br />Vikas, from The Candle Shop, explains that the products tend to fly off the shelves at this time of the year. “Basically, we have a lot of traditional stuff — painted candles and even diyas. At this time of the year, people tend to pick these up — especially the diyas, they’re the fastest-selling at this point,” he says.<br /><br />The Malleswaram market also has a huge selection of diyas, which come in myriad shapes and sizes — while some are small and traditional, others are decorated with scalloped edges and electric colours. Shruthi, a professional, says that most of her diya shopping takes place at the old market. <br /><br />“Apart from that, I also like to pick up designer diyas from Chitrakala Parishat — they’re really pretty. There are also some interesting electric diyas in the market, with plastic covers — when the normal ones run out, we tend to use them. They come in bright colours and different sizes,” she adds.</p>.<p>But the safest bet for anyone looking for a wide range of diyas, says Yathindra Lakkana, a professor at NIFT, is Pottery Town. “The scale on which the market operates is huge. <br />In fact, many corporates also approach the artisans there for bulk orders. <br />There’s one particular artisan named Rajashekhar, whose shop is fairly popular. Customers can actually visit his store, tell him the kind of design they want <br />and he will make their diyas accordingly — in fact, a customer can actually <br />make his or her diya and Rajashekhar will put the finishing touches,” he <br />says.<br /><br />There was a time, he adds, when the artisans in Pottery Town tried to get innovative with their produce — but these days, earthenware diyas seem to be selling the most. <br />“At one point, they were actually selling Plaster of Paris diyas — but I don’t <br />think there was much demand for that. So now, everyone sticks to the earthenware ones,” he sums up.<br /><br /></p>
