Lighting Solutions for Diwali using Paper
Lighting Solutions for Diwali using Paper from Priya Pakad
Lighting Solutions for Diwali using Paper

Diwali, the festival of lights, is the biggest festival for Indians, celebrated by people of varying social groups. Irrespective of their social backgrounds, they all are united together by the traditions of our country. During Diwali, houses are beautifully adorned to welcome the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi ji, and give a warm welcome to all the guests.

Even though over the years, people and their perceptions have changed, the traditions have lived but with changes according to the times. Earthen diyas are replaced with electric lights, torans have evolved into more intricate decor products and rangolis are being replaced by sticker rangolis. The medium may have changed, but the tradition and the spirit of people is still the same.

Celebrating this undying spirit of traditions and people, a range of home décor products are designed for Xylem Papercraft Pvt. Ltd. as a part of my diploma project.

Diyas are an important part of Indian culture. Apart from lighting them on special occasions and festivals, it is also lit everyday during prayers or aarti. It is a symbol of respect towards the god and our belief in spirituality. It is a symbol of “lighting” the way for the righteous, the wise, and for love and other positive values. An upcoming trend during Diwali season is the use of creative tea light holders, that serve as beautiful home decor and gifting products. These are a modern interpretation of traditional earthen lamps and pots. Appreciating the translucency of paper and the magic of texture coming alive when seen against light, tea light holders using paper were developed. As paper is a single layer material which is volatile in nature, an intermediate layer was needed to separate the paper from the light. Hence paper panels with the designs, exploring different types of handmade papers, techniques and effects, were pasted on glass containers.
Apart from the traditional paper lamps, a few more designs were made with contemporary aesthetics. Taking inspiration from aztec prints, geometric cutouts in paper are layered from behind with coloured textured paper. The mechanism in these lamps is different wherein the flat-packed box structure is opened and a cardboard with the electrical fittings is pulled up to hold the lamp in shape.
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Lighting Solutions for Diwali using Paper

Diwali, the festival of lights, is the biggest festival for Indians, celebrated by people of varying social groups. Irrespective of their social backgrounds, they all are united together by the traditions of our country. During Diwali, houses are beautifully adorned to welcome the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi ji, and give a warm welcome to all the guests.

Even though over the years, people and their perceptions have changed, the traditions have lived but with changes according to the times. Earthen diyas are replaced with electric lights, torans have evolved into more intricate decor products and rangolis are being replaced by sticker rangolis. The medium may have changed, but the tradition and the spirit of people is still the same.

Celebrating this undying spirit of traditions and people, a range of home décor products are designed for Xylem Papercraft Pvt. Ltd. as a part of my diploma project.

Priya Pakad
Textile Designer Bengaluru, India