There is no Diwali without diyas. While candles, electric lights, lanterns and fairy lights do make your home beautiful, the humble clay diyas continue to hold their charm. Considered to be symbols of knowledge, truth, wisdom, joy and wealth, they have been used to light up homes since time immemorial.
With changing tastes, the earthen diyas have gone through changes too. One finds them in many varieties today — adorned with stone embellishements, painted in acrylic, embroidered with glass work, beautified with zari, in ceramic and porcelain varieties and so on.
In many families, it is a tradition to light up brass and silver diyas only. No matter what type of diya you choose to decorate your home with, it will have its own beauty, which will make your Diwali even more beautiful and bright.
“You can get a little creative and paint your earthen diyas with paints and glitter and arrange them in front of your door to welcome your guests. Another way is to use them is placing them with your rangolis. They will surely add more charm and beauty to your rangoli,” says Sneha Gopalan, an artist who designs terracotta diyas.
She further adds that one can create an assortment of diyas of various colours and sizes and make different patterns on the floor with them. “You can buy stacked diyas or figurine diyas which are made in the form of mythological characters. When lit, they will decorate the corners,” adds Gopalan.
While clay diyas can be spread in different corners of the house, you can use long layered brass diyas as statement pieces or centre pieces. “Nothing matches the charm of the brass diyas. They look royal and add a special touch of festivity to your homes. You can also add flower petals to the oil to get some soothing fragrance,” advises Gopalan who says that an ensemble of a big diya in the centre surrounded by small ones is the simplest way to decorate.
Stairways are one of the common places in the house where you can place diyas. “Think beyond using only diyas. You can adorn the diyas with flowers to make them look more beautiful,” concludes Gopalan.
