Diwali Special: Unique diyas that stay alight up to twenty four hours
Ashok Chakradhari, a potter from Chhattisgarh has used his traditional skills with a dash of science to come up with an oil lamp that can burn uninterrupted for an entire day.
For all those who have managed to get the special diya (earthen lamp) from Ashok Chakradhari, a potter residing in Kumharpara village of Kondagaon district of Chhattisgarh, it is going to be a well lit Diwali.
Chakradhari after a lot of trial and error at his potter’s wheel came up with his innovation that has earned him a lot of accolades. “I have received a lot of enquiries from our country and even from abroad,” he said with pride.
“We belong to the kumhaar (potter) community that is deprived of education. I have only studied till the fourth class. Pottery is also in decline as fancy steel and plastic goods in the market are more attractive to the people. However, these earthen lamps have earned potters like me a new identity,” Chakradhari who is in his fifties, told Gaon Connection.
The 24-hour-lamp is made up of three parts. There is a stand, a dome-like container with a spout and of course, the diya. This dome is filled with oil and overturned and set on the stand. Oil from its spout drips on to the lamp and wick steadily and keeps the flame alive. “It takes me an hour to make one set of the lamp with its three parts. In a day I manage to make about 10 sets,” he said. He has priced each set of lamp at Rs 200.
The idea of this lamp, says Chakradhari, came from a senior potter he had met years ago in Bhopal. “But I tried and failed numerous times before finally being able to make it properly,” he said.
Chakradhari’s lamps are now in great demand. He revealed how another eight or ten potters were crafting them along with him. But still, he is unable to meet the demand.
It was ironical, laughed Chakradhari, because till not so long ago the demand for earthenware was so little that many of his fellow potters had stopped working at their wheel. “But today, all top-notch officers come to me to buy these lamps and there is a lot of demand for the diyas from other states as well,” he said with pride. Chakradari has also received several state and national level awards. He has set up a small workshop/shop centre in his village called Jhitku Mitki where he displays his pottery work.
Chakradhari hoped the government would extend its support to potters like him to encourage them to keep the craft alive. “The Chhattisgarh government, on our repeated requests, set up the Mati Kala Board, Raipur, a centre where handicrafts can be learnt and promoted,” Chakradari said.