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Special artists, special occasion, special creations
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This Diwali don't rush to multinational corporations selling fancy gift items. Instead, just drive down to the Blind Relief Association in New Delhi to pick up beautiful candles and other items made by visually impaired children. RANA A SIDDIQUI pays a visit... .
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Colours of light... take your pick from Blind Relief Association's Diwali offerings. Photos: V.V.Krishnan.
SEEN RED, orange, green and yellow rabbits, cats and dogs? An elephant carrying four diyas on its bulky back? Or burning lotus floating on water? If not, you can witness all these and more at Blind Relief Association in New Delhi. These are all candles that flood the market these days. But what's so special about an earthen lamp on the festival of lights? Well, the artists here cannot see their own creation. These diyas are made by visually impaired artists. Some others with other special needs help out. They are all employees of the association's candle making section.
BRA came into inception in 1945 as `Industrial Home for the Blind' at Lal Kuan that later branched out to Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg 10 years later. The association introduced a candle-making segment 24 years ago. This segment now, has seven blind persons, one partially sighted and one physically challenged who have all been making candles here since its inception with one or two additions for a division of labour when Dusshera and Diwali approaches each year.
They make candles throughout the year and by the time the festival of lights arrives, the candle-making activities increase; the challenge is to introduce new figures, colours and sizes.
All these can be witnessed at the association's premises where an exhibition-cum-sale is organised. This year, the show and sale has already begun. From October 25, the institution's
Sales department is likely to remain most occupied.
"The candle segment employees have been making candles since 1978. They produce less 30 per cent less than a sighted person but it does not affect the sales adversely because each year we add at least one design or concept that grows popular among people, that also helps accelerate sales," says 85-year-old Pran Nath, a trustee of BRA and the main fundraiser for the institution.
Hence, you have candles of uncommon sizes -- a `minar' of 15 to 36 inches of multiple hues, the `chunk' as it is known as, can burn for seven to 10 days, the biggest diya, the colourful Khajuraho images, dancing girls, Laxmi and Ganesha, smiling animals and multicoloured flowers that you witness all these nine days of the exhibition and sale.
"Odd sizes are made on orders specially for marriages or tentwallahs while new designs and shapes are introduced to compete with the market," informs Nath. So the lack of sight is no problem for visually challenged people here who receive minimum wages of a permanent employee with all benefits. As moulds, ceramics and clay items are bought from the market, they do the filling here. The filling process itself is not free from hassles. Sometimes the wax colour mix becomes too dark or light, sometimes, the thread inside the candle goes haywire, wax spreads outside the container, and more often than not, the creators burn their hands too for they can't make out if the wax is hot. They have to touch it to know it. So the wastage of the materials is not ruled out. "But they have such a good idea of the filling that they rectify their mistakes on their own," says Ram Nivas Aggarwal, the sales supervisor with the institution. "Due to their hard work the sale that remains at three lakh candles throughout the year, grows up to 25 lakh in these nine days," he beams. This time you would see 54 items including clay, ceramic diyas and gods and fancy, decorative, scented candles of various shapes and sizes - and a huge crowd flocking to buy them. This is Delhi as it is at this time of the year. Take your pick.
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