City artisan's effort to make Diwali trendier

 Deepavali, the festival of lights is incomplete without earthern lamps. Diyas with different designs, shapes and sizes have flooded the markets in Mangalore.

One can find an array of earthen diyas in a tiny old shop situated in front of Town Hall in Mangalore. ‘Bharat Supplies’ owned by Ravindra Prabhu showcases diyas with vivid creative designs.

From a simple diya costing Rs 1 to designer diya with the intricate designs and embedded with idols of Gods and Goddess attract the customers.

For Prabhu, the festival of lights literally brings him closer to his near and dear friends. As he is speech impaired, his friends Gajendra Shetty, Padmanabha, Mahabala, Sridhar, Srinath and others help him to carry out the daily business during peak hours. His friends voluntarily extend a helping hand in managing customers’ requirements. 

Prabhu’s friend Chandrahas Hegde spoke to Deccan Herald on behalf of Prabhu said that there are basically two types of diyas—clay and ceramic. Ceramic diyas come in lustrous surface and coloured features. They come in various shapes of elephants, swans and so on. Also, there are conch deepa, coconut deepa and Swasthika deepa, standing out in the collection. There are 50 varieties of diyas. The ceramic diyas come from Calcutta and Rajastan and other clay diyas from Chennai. “We order for ordinary earthen lamps from earthenware manufacturers in Ujire and Urva,” he said.

The price of clay diyas varies from Rs 1 to 50, depending upon their size, shape and designs.

The Ceramic diyas costs upto Rs 170. The diyas embedded with the clay idols of Gods and Goddesses add a special touch of spirituality. Lakshmi-Ganapathy Deepa is this year's specialty and costs around Rs 150. North Indians  prefer the diyas embedded with the idol of Goddess Lakshmi, he said.

“The demand for clay diyas lasts till the end of auspicious Karthika masa. They are also in demand during Lakshadeepotsava in temples. We receive bulk orders for earthern lamps from temples in Hebri, Horanadu, Balehonnur and Sringeri,” he added.
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