Amid increased emphasis on local or Indian-made lights and diyas this Diwali this year, five dozen women in Gurgaon's Carterpuri Village have been making Diwali lights at home. With Chinese lights absent in many markets and shopkeepers unwilling to sell Chinese items in other places, these women say they are trying to fill that gap, while earning some extra money for themselves ahead of the festival.
The project is an initiative by NGO Sewa Bharati's Gurgaon chapter, who has provided the technical know-how and training to these women and helped them procure raw material for the lights. The NGO then partners with wholesalers to send these lights to markets both in the city and beyond Gurgaon. Ram Sajan Singh, the NGO's District President, tells us, "These women were trained in how to make these jhaalars and lights last month, after which they began working, first under supervision and then independently. This serves the dual purpose of promoting swadesi goods and giving meaningful employment to these skilled workers. Working together for almost a month, these women have made over 5000 of these jhaalars, which we have already sent to the markets."
For making one jhaalar, which consists of 50 bulbs, one woman earns Rs 30. The women – most of whom are from underprivileged and economically-weaker families – have been working in their homes for the past few weeks and have already made Rs 12-15,000 each making these lights.