Diwali is a festival of lot of DIY projects! Diwali decorations include making aakash kandils, rangoli, diya decoration, mud forts and sumptuous cooking!
Aakash Kandil – Lantern
[Aakash– sky, kandil– lantern]
Aakash kandil is traditionally an oil lamp or lantern lit and hung high outside the home, on terraces or outside windows. After electricity became common, it came to be replaced by electric lights encased in the traditional or modern lanterns. No Diwali decoration is complete without the beautiful, graceful aakash kandil.
All it takes is wooden sticks, coloured kite paper, thread/twine, glue, tape, measuring scale and some patience. There are some designs that are very traditional to Maharashtra such as the shatkoni (hexagonal shape) and karanji (folded semi-circular/ crescent shape) designs. The long, colourful, fluttering tails are an essential feature. The frames are made using wooden sticks and can be stored to re-use with fresh kite paper the following year.
Rangoli and Diya / Panti (Lamp)
Rangoli –
No Diwali celebration can be the same without Rangoli! Rangolis are designs made on the floor or a flat surface with a fine white powder such as marble powder, fine rice flour or something similar. This design is then filled in with combinations of bright natural powder colours. The design itself is also called rangoli as is the white powder used to make it.
Flowers or petals are also often used in this design.
It is such an art – it takes patience, focus and an artistic bent of mind to create a beautiful rangoli design.
Diya/ panti (or panati) –
The diya or panti is traditionally a handmade terracotta or clay lamp which uses oil and wick. It is a very integral part of Diwali since Diwali is the festival of lights. The diyas can be as simple or as elaborate as one wishes.
Multiple lamps are placed in all the windows and most importantly, at the doorways of homes, offices, etc. along with a rangoli. At dusk, when these diyas are lit, the soft golden yellow halo that spreads onto the beautiful colours of rangoli and flowers is absolutely serene.
Be eco-friendly!
I am a firm supporter of eco-friendly and sustainable traditional practices. Hence, always avoid non-biodegradable materials (unless it is a string of lights or something that I can’t really manufacture at home! Even then we try to buy the safest ones and use the same for years after!)
Jarring flashy plastic decorations and lanterns do not look very authentic and in fact are not very authentic to this celebration. As is important to go with natural colours for the rangoli.
We always like to stick to traditional ecologically responsible practices. Nothing beats classic in beauty and sensibility!
Buy Local and Handmade!
While DIY is very exciting, I always try to do my bit and buy from local sellers who make these lanterns and diyas at home and sell for a small income. Often they hardworking people, young school going girls and boys trying to brighten up their family’s Diwali by making some money using their crafting skills. The market streets are always dotted with such vendors who either have pop- up shops of the earthen diyas of a variety of designs or make a mobile installation of their lanterns for sale, using a criss-cross of tall bamboo shafts to carry like a flag pole, the paper tails of the aakash-kandils fluttering in the breeze.
Being eco-friendly and buying local means that we are doing our best to not harm the environment and bonus – it saves a lot of money too!
My Home Decorations
We usually put up one big lantern at one window and several smaller ones in all the windows. Putting up the lanterns and fairy lights in the windows is a tradition very close to my heart that we undertake a few days before Diwali festival begins. Those fluttering lanterns and twinkling lights that adorn our windows look so bright, pretty and graceful!
I also love to paint the diyas at home. I buy clay lamps of various designs from the local potters and do my own little project of painting decorating them with vibrant colours.
Diwali Faraal (Diwali Snacks and Breakfast)
Together with family and friends we share enjoy the ‘faraal’ typically as breakfast or snacks. Faraal is a grand breakfast made of all the special snacks, sweets and savouries. Sometimes, it is a very potluck like setup where everyone is welcome to bring what faraal items they have prepared. Some of the most common and the biggest favourite items are a variety of ladoos, chakli, karanji or gujiya, shankarpali and chivda. Check out my family favourite Besan Ladoo recipe.
My Rangoli
My mother and I also make various rangoli designs at our doorstep. We change the designs throughout Diwali. Sometimes using fresh flowers or flower petals in combination with the rangoli.
In the evening we light diyas and place them around the rangoli and in the house. With fresh flowers and the warm flickering light from the diyas the whole atmosphere becomes very cleansing beautiful.
There is so much to express joy and bring warmth through there pretty decorations made with love. I hope you will have fun decorating your homes and special places for Diwali too!
