As the festival of lights approaches, and craftsmen are said to be ramping up the production of clay lamps diyas, a second-year student at a private college in Moodbidri is busy painting these earthen lamps to give them a more colorful appearance. Raksha R Poojary, a 23-year-old artist from Kaup in the Udupi district, said she chose to paint diyas and sell them to support her younger brother, who is a diploma student.
She explained, “Based on the overwhelming reaction last year, she chose to paint diyas again this Deepavali. It all started last year when she bought 20 diyas from a grocery store, painted them, and displayed them at a Shirva show. My objective at the time was not to sell them, but they drew the attention of a few visitors to the show who wanted to purchase them. Each diya cost around Rs 20 and then she charged an extra Rs 5 for my painting services. She subsequently purchased another batch of 25 diyas, which sold out very quickly, and then began to receive orders. She ended up painting approximately 2,000 diyas last year.
Ramesh Poojary, who is physically challenged, and Shashikala Kotian, who works at a grocery shop, have a daughter named Raksha. This program is assisting me in funding my academics. So far this year, she has received orders for almost 1,500 diyas. Copper-colored diyas with an antique appearance is selling like hotcakes. She has also started painting diyas of all sizes and styles this time. The lotus design is in high demand among designers. Customers are enamored with the color scheme. Because of the strong demand, she was compelled to purchase an extra 1,000 bulbs from Mumbai. “But charge an extra Rs 10 for my work as compared to simple diyas,” Raksha stated.
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