For most, one of the fondest memories of childhood during Diwali season is decorating home with paper kandeels. Traditionally made with colourful paper, the staple home decor has now found a new avatar in plastic.
Durable and easy to install, the plastic kandeels now make for the majority of kandeel market share, as the paper ones are fragile to store and take a while to be installed with care.
Talking about the shift, Ram Avtar, who sells plastic kandeels in Sadar market said, "My father used to sell paper kandeel in this market, but we faced losses because paper kandeels were fragile and tough to store. Instead, the plastic kandeels that I sell today are easy to store and fetch a good margin as well."
However, the increased sales of plastic kandeels have also become a cause for concern as the paper kandeels were environment-friendly, while the plastic ones have an adverse effect on the environment. Moreover, the traditional value attached to the paper kandeels seem to slowly be losing their sheen to the newer avatar.
"I remember, the whole family used to sit and cut papers of different colours to make kandeels. Those days, kandeel was more of a tool to unite the family, but now it's just home decor," said 76-year-old Shobha Rani.
Meanwhile, Ishan Seth, who was at a store to return some kandeels noted, "I had purchased the plastic ones only because I found them beautiful, however, at home, my mother told me what they stand for. I must admit, the paper kandeel that my mother made after that was much better looking."