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.
