Hurricane lanterns, once a common sight in households, are now a part of antique collections

If you were to search the loft in your house, you might find a hurricane lamp with the faint smell of kerosene still emanating from it. These lanterns, which were once a common sight in households, are now a part of antique collections.

Until about two decades ago, most homes in the city owned hurricane lamps with wicks. The flame would never get extinguished, not even on windy nights. The children of the house were often entrusted with the task of cleaning them in the evenings.

“As children, we had to remove the glass covering carefully, and clean the soot gathered from the previous day’s use. After this, kerosene was poured in the bottom chamber and the wick lit. We used to study under its light,” recalls V. Aryadevi, an octogenarian resident of Mylapore.

Now, these lamps are purchased only by some restaurants, cinemas, serial production houses and interior decorators. “Earlier, we used to sell around 300 lamps per month. But, now, the number has fallen to 100,” says Shair Ali, who has been selling lanterns since 1945 on Evening Bazaar Road.

Though electric lamps have replaced hurricane lights, he says the latter burn for a longer duration. “I use one in my house to this day. You can still spot them in villages,” he says.

K. Nizam, who also sells hurricane lamps in the locality, says those who sell food on Marina and Elliots beaches, and petty shop owners purchase the lanterns from him. “But most customers prefer electric lamps. They feel that pouring kerosene and lighting the lamps is too much of a hassle. Hurricane lamps are more of a decorative piece in most homes now,” he adds.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vivek Narayanan / December 24th, 2014