A tete-a-tete with city's kandeel makers

While the festival of lights, Diwali is just round the corner, we're all set with festive decorations. As a tradition, hanging kandeels is an integral part of Diwali decorations. Kandeels illuminate our houses in mesmarizing colours, but we seldom know the ones who make these kandeels. A fortnight before Diwali, city-streets are filled with decorative pieces up for sale. One such bylane is in Mahim's Kadri Wadis, fondly known as Kandeel Galli, which has over 50 pop-up stalls, that are set up a couple of weeks before Diwali with an exuberant vibe. In a tete-a-tete, meet the kandeel makers...

Continuing the Legacy

Vaishali Mistry, 23, who learnt making Kandetels from her father, five years ago, still continues to make them. "When I was in college, before Diwali, I used to accompany my father to make these kandeels. I started with smaller ones. We used to supply kandeels to others, however, later on, we eliminated the middle-man and started selling them ourselves. I owe all the art of kandeel-making to my late father. I continue it as a legacy, in his memory," says Vaishali, who works as an analyst at Tata Consultancy Services. "Each kandeel takes me about 5-6 hours. I collect leaves throughout the year just so that I can take a week's leave before Diwali," she added.

Two-gether

Johnny and Supriya D'souza have been married for eight years. While Johnny is a land-brooker, Supriya is a housewife. Although Johnny has been into the business for over 10 years, his wife joined only to spend time with her husband. "As much as it is profit-making for us, it is a good way for us to spend time together because he is so busy all the time." says Supriya while she nudges her husband. "Everything is hand-made, even the cut-outs of designs. We sit together, ideate, design and make them together. We invest over Rs 25,000 and make a huge profit out of it. It takes us two-months of preparation to make these kandeels. It is tiresome, yet, at the end it pays-off.

One family

"Our house is our workshop," says Sameer More, 45, whose ancestors have been living in the Kadri Wadi area for the past three generations. "We have seen this lane evolve into Kandeel Galli." The family has been into the business of making kandeels for over 13 years now. "It is an activity in which my mother, brother, his wife and sons and I love to do. Working together is never difficult," says Sameer. "All our kandeels are eco-friendly, and each and everything is made here in our house. For months before the festival, we make these kandeels. I too take a leave from my job just like my brother," adds Sameer who works in the Custom Clearence department.

Oldest of the lot

"I have been making kandeels for the past 40 years," claims Ramdas Patil, 49, who also claims his father, who is now 94-years-old, was one of the pioneers of the kandeel-making legacy in Kandeel Galli, Mahim. "I used to accompany my father and brother as a kid. Earlier, they used to sell it to someone else, later, we started selling it for ourselves," added Ramdas, who is into the business of selling imitation jewelry. "We are known to have the most variety in the whole market. We have customers who have been coming to us for over a decade." Along with traditional Aakash kandeels, Ramdas at his stall has patterns and designs such as pineapple kandeels, cupcake kandeels (make of cupcake cups) bottle kandeel, (made of reused PET bottles) glass kandeels (made of plastic glasses) all among the many, which are all eco-friendly. Our preperation starts before Ganapati Festival. My brother sets up a pop-up in Ratnagiri, where my father lives now and I set up a stall here, in Mumbai." His daughter, Chetali added, "We are here for 24-hours. Even at 2am, the stalls here will be lit up and people will be shopping. We are always busy before the main Diwali festival."