Go DIY this Diwali

With Diwali just around the corner, the city is already getting ready to light up homes and bring forth a burst of fall colours with rangoli. For those who want to make innovative diyas, eco-friendly lanterns or jazz up their rangolis, there are a number of workshops happening around the city to help Mumbaikars go DIY this Diwali. While there are those who have stuck to tradition, there are others who have mingled elements like glass art and even decoupage to add in an element of innovation. From clay diya-making workshops to Japanese Shinshibori art workshops to make special varieties of gift-wrapping paper, there’s something for every taste.

Ritika Varshney, for instance, thinks that decoupage is a great way to create some innovative lamps this festive season. “We are going to be making lamps using paper cut-outs and paint in a technique which is typical to decoupage. The lamps will be made from upcycled alcohol bottles and jars,” she explains. “I personally prefer to use transparent bottles, since the colours come out the brightest if you use colourless glass. But tinted bottles, like wine bottles can also be used to create different effects. We’re using LED rice lights for the lamps, which keeps it Eco-friendly and also ensured that the glass doesn’t overheat,” she adds.

Ritika is not the only one who is looking to have a positive impact on the environment this Diwali. A number of workshops have also been arranged in the city by the art outfit Blue Bulb. Regan Rodericks from the organisation says that upcycling bottles is only one of the ways in which they are keeping things green this Diwali. “We’re going to be painting glass bottles to use as coffee-table décor and we’ll also make lights out of glasses and jars to create lamps that are eco-friendly and look nice at the same time. There will also be a kandil-making and acrylic rangoli workshop and a stained-glass workshop where we’ll use glass art to create a two-dimensional kandil and tea lights,” he explains.

Vinisha Salva from Paintology is also using glass art to brighten up the festive season. Since Diwali is the time to shake out the old and bring in the new with some rigorous cleaning, Vinisha has devised a way to make old glassware more attractive. “Any old wine glasses, bottles, tumblers and jars can be painted using acrylic paint. These can then be used as table décor as well as holders for diyas, and are also a great way to brighten up the house using material which you would otherwise have tossed away,” she explains.

Devanshi Damani from Colour Crates on the other hand is looking to go traditional this Diwali, with workshops that teach kids to make diyas from clay and paper. “We also have a Lippan rangoli workshop. Lippan is a special type of art, which is typical to the Kachchh area of Gujarat. It’s done on the walls with one colour, usually white. I’m putting my own spin on the art form and we are going to be creating the rangoli on cardboard or wooden pieces and we’re going to be using a variety of colours, because, that’s what Diwali is about after all,” she smiles.