Let there be light

It's celebration time and with Diwali just round the corner, it's time to start shopping for clothes, goodies, gadgets, jewellery and much more. Wait, there's something not quite right with your shopping list "" not when it gives diyas a miss.

What you can miss out on, though, are those coloured electrical lights with the careless wires. Also, we've hit the dusty lanes, ventured into silver jewellery shops and exclusive lifestyle stores to present to you a wide range of options exclusively for diyas. So it's time you said hello to your exclusive diya shopping.

At Good Earth, our first stop, we picked up diyas in the pebble-shape category. These are diyas in stone and cost Rs 350 and Rs 375 each. They can be arranged on a tray in black stone available for Rs 2,200 on which pebbles have been pre-arranged.

"You just put oil and place the wick and it looks really pretty," says the company official. Our tip: instead of regular oil, drown the wick in aromatic oils for that special ambience. For those of you who think stone diyas give a rough look, try copper-finish diyas at Good Earth that are available for Rs 750.

Osho World has a fantastic range of aromatic candles and diyas too but the ones that really caught our eye were the pretty silver diyas, aesthetically placed atop marble arrangements.

If you choose to pick up the special clusters of diyas in silver, it'll cost you Rs 6,000. The copper-finish diyas in the same style will cost much less "" the range starts at Rs 1,000. And if you thought the shape of diyas doesn't allow too much variety, wait till you take a dekho at the range of diyas that House of Ishatvam has.

There's an amazing variety of shapes available at the lifestyle store, but our pick is a set of elegant flower-shaped diyas in colourful glass with ceramic base, some of which come attached with a price-tag of Rs 350.

While the range at this lifestyle store is spectacular, price-wise too the range at House of Ishatvam starts at an affordable Rs 75 and moves upto Rs 390. At Manna Studio Line too, the usual diya has been touched up with a hint of modernity, what with it being combined with frosted and clear glass.

If you think there's no Diwali without silver, there's always the tried, tested and trusted Frazer and Haws with a compelling range of silver diyas hand-crafted and hallmarked in 92.5 per cent sterling silver.

Available under the 'divine kiss' series, diyas from Frazer and Haws this season include a diya trinetra (Rs 4,200) inspired from the third eye of Shiva with a gilded rudraksha to enhance its overall look. Diya panchamrit, a pretty drop-shaped diya with five-layered grooved handle embellished with an etched trishul in red comes for 2,100.

A tip: To complete the set, try complementing the diya with a bell and an incense stand that's styled similarly and is available in the same motif too. Diya Radha is priced Rs 2,200 and at Rs 2,800, Diya Ganesh Pranam is a twin diya piece in the shape of folded hands symbolising prayer to god. There's also diya Disha from Frazer and Haws (Rs 5,200) with its gold gilded ornamentation illuminated in all four directions.

Meanwhile, contemporary diyas are making a spectacular appearance on the shelves of lifestyle store Episode. There are diyas in the rainbow series, torch-shaped diyas, ribbon shaped diyas but the most popular one is the tricon diya "" a set of multiple diyas available for Rs 24,000.

For those who simply can't resist terracotta diyas, a trip to Cottage Emporium will offer you scented diyas in different shapes and sizes enhanced with gold-dust, mirror and zari work. The prices vary and start at Rs 50 approximately and go up to Rs 500 and more.

There's a lot available in the name of diyas in the festive mart. You just need to reach out and take your pick.

With inputs from Nanditta Chibber