Lantern : Necessity became Luxury

                   The Post is for A to Z April 2015 Challenge, I took up a topic : 'L' for Lantern'

In our village, when we were kids….there was no electricity.  Glowworm used to amplify the beauty of dark ambiance of our countryside nights, lantern used to help us in study, assist my mom and aunts in cooking, arranging the beds to sleep.

During the day, my mom, aunt, all ladies at home would keep all the lanterns ready to be used at night by cleaning the lanterns’ smokestack, putting kerosene in its tank. Once the dusk approached, they would light them up, distribute in all the rooms. We would study in its light, mom and aunts would cook food…..we would have our dinner…….mom and aunt would take it to outside to clean the utensils. Dad, grandpa or uncle would use it if they need to close the boundary gate or go out for any reason.

Gradually, the lives got changing……..

Electricity came in, though accompanied by frequent power cuts. So, lantern still could manage its importance till 90’s. Now, there are solar powered lights to replace the lanterns, bring down its usage. I would not say that it got vanished at all in the extremely unreachable villages; it is still carrying its value.

But, lanterns have made their way to décor up the restaurants, bars, hotels, and  to add grandeur in the living rooms of  higher ups in society.