“Diwali season is our busiest time of the year. We earn a large part of our yearly income from selling diyas during these few weeks, and that money helps us run our household through the year. So, we look forward to this season every year.

Our family has been making clay diyas for generations. We learnt this craft from our elders, and our children are growing up watching us do the same. We shape each diya by hand, leave it to dry and put it in the kiln. Once it is fired, we paint and decorate it. Sometimes, a diya cracks during firing, and all the effort that went into making it is lost.

Things have changed over the years. Cheaper factory-made diyas, plastic lamps have given people more options, making it harder for us to compete.

We don’t know whether our children will choose this craft when they grow up, and that is their decision to make. But we hope people will continue to buy clay diyas. When we choose handmade lamps for our homes, we also help the people who make them earn a living and keep an old craft going. Festivals are not just about the traditions we celebrate, but also about the people who work hard to keep those traditions alive.”