It is hard to come across a period film without the protagonist walking through darkness holding a Petromax lamp. Today, the lantern symbolises an era bygone.
Back in the day, when electricity-powered homes were available only to the crème de la crème of society, the lantern, which has by default come to be referred by the proprietary name ‘Petromax’ light or lamp, was the refuge for all. Be it the light that decked the streets of pre-independent India or the one used as wedding decor well into the 1990s, these lamps were common household items. However, the Petromax lamp, whose name was derived by combining the words ‘petroleum’ and ‘Max Graetz’, the inventor of the lamp, has long since left the market, paving the way for compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and LED lights. But despite its diminishing sheen, the legacy of this lamp continues to shine at Long Bazaar, a landmark in the fort town of Vellore.
Knowledge handed down
Originally from Bengaluru, B.S. Murugesh Nayakar set up shop in 1936 with the 20-odd Petromax lamps he bought from Germany and erstwhile Czechoslovakia. “My father was passionate about this. He worked hard and ensured that I learned how to use and mend them so I could continue the lantern rental business,” said M. Govindasamy, who worked for over 50 years, until his son M. Arumugam took over.
According to Mr. Arumugam, the demand for renting these lanterns is usually from mid-July, when the people of Tamil Nadu celebrate Aadi Perukku, which ushers in monsoon and the period of sowing seeds. Following this, the month of Purattasi (mid-September-October), considered auspicious by many Hindus, continues to drive the business. “Temple and village festivals are conducted till December. After a month’s break, we see our business pick up during Pongal,” said Mr. Arumugam. Customers tell him Petromax can give the “divine golden glow to idols”, which the other lights cannot. These lanterns are rented out for ₹150 per night.
In the 1980s, when these lamps were gradually fading away, Mr. Govindasamy turned to innovation to help the business compete with the newer variants, while trying to hold on to his father’s legacy. “We struggled with the hand pump, so I travelled to Madras [Chennai] and bought a machine compressor to push kerosene from one tank to another. This made our business faster and easier,” Mr. Govindasamy said as the now 200-year-old brass pump remains unused.
Bringing change to the design of the lamp, a new case, made of 16 individual pieces of glass, was prepared. Earlier, the case was a single piece of glass moulded to look like an onion bulb. Not only was this prone to damage but it also lost its appeal over time. The burgeoning cost of labour and unavailability of kerosene, known as ‘Krishna oil’ in Tamil for its blue colour, made a massive dent in sales. “The rising cost was difficult to manage, so we switched to gas and electric lights,” said Parthiban, who runs a popular light fixture store at Walajabad.
The added cost
Since the lamps are fragile and expensive to repair, it takes five people to carry them. Earlier, the lamps would be carried overhead by workers who walked over 20 km to deliver them. Today, the added cost of transport and food has made even the lantern rental business a costly affair.
Another threat to the business’s future comes in the form of the lamp’s most vital part, the mantle. To create this, fabric is knit to take on the structure of a dome, which is then covered in Thorium. It emits a bright light upon coming into contact with heat. “We stopped the production of mantle six months ago because of low demand. We are focusing on other lines of production,” said Munir Makani, proprietor of the Mumbai-based Camay Fine Products, which supplies mantles to various shops across India.
“Apart from the mantle, all parts are made by us. We are the last remaining shop [in Vellore] that solely deals with Petromax lamps, and nobody else today knows the art of repairing them,” contended Mr. Govindasamy.
“It is purely out of passion that I am running this business today,” said Mr. Arumugam. When asked about the future, his wife Dhanalakshmi said with a glimmer of hope, “We have two sons, and we leave it to them to decide the fate of the business. My wish is to see at least one of them take it up.”
