By the light of the Silvery Petromax
By Tony Fernandes
It was the light source that brightened many great and important occasions with
its characteristic and luminescent white light for over three generations. It
was also used in all shops in the towns and villages. The well-known and proven
‘Petromax’ lantern held centre stage for many nightly functions, celebrations
and festivities in Goa. It was called colloquially as ‘petromas’. Till today,
nearly a century after its invention by two German brothers, the brilliance of
the Petromax has not faded.
In the absence of electricity in the old days, the ‘petromax’ was very popular
mainly due to its use on significant and auspicious occasions that were held
both indoor and outdoor. It adorned many high places like the ‘matou’ (canopy)
for wedding celebrations at night, at sung litanies in homes, salves, vespers
and feasts in churches and chapels, at school functions, Christmas and New Year
dances, nataks and tiatros, at zagors and zatras, and at open-air night fairs
and celebrations, for bhajans in the temples as well as at religious festivals
like Divali, Dasera and others. Its main advantages were its reliability and
portability. It shed its light all around during Ganesh Chaturthi festival and
often led the procession to the river or pond for immersion. It also brightened
the pre-wedding ritual of ‘ros” at the bride and bridegroom’s houses, and lit
the way from the traditional ‘matou’ to the ‘xim’ (boundary line) at the
concluding post-wedding finale when the relatives and guests from each side of
the respective families parted ways.
At least thre households in our small village owned a Petromax in the early
fifties. Later by the early 1960’s my father had purchased one especially for
my elder brother’s wedding. To get it working required some level of skill. At
sundown just before the Angelus prayers I watched my father as he literally
brought this amazing innovation to light. At the time I thought it seemed as
though it was quite a ritual till the time it finally shed its super
incandescent light on the surroundings. My father was quite adept at lighting
it. I was quite young then. “Someday I got learn to light this thing’, I said
to myself. I also closely watched my older brother as he trimmed and primed
this awesome light source. As days went by, I was assigned with minor tasks
before this self-contained apparatus delighted us with its full glow. The
training involved fetching the kerosene container and funnel, filling the tank
and cleaning the round glass cover with a soft cloth.
As a young lad I admired the elders in the village when they lit this lantern,
going through the various stages of the entire procedure in the fading evening
twilight. It was always at twilight time when we got around to lighting it. It
had a great effect in brightening up an entire community. We had a special iron
hook fitted to one of the roof beams to hang it after lighting it up.
I had always appreciated this shiny nickel-plated gadget, but did not have the
slightest clue why it took so long for it to emit the bright light that it was
so famous for. At the same time I also thought that this appliance was not
something to fool around with. It appeared to be an appreciable appliance yet
cumbersome and complex in its operation. It was only when I was in my mid-teens
that I understood the working of this superb invention. Finally I was
successful in lighting it all by myself, but of course with Dad’s supervision
and I clearly recall my first experience in lighting it and became easy over
the years.
Although we owned a petromax we used it only for certain important occasions
like feasts and litanies whenever my father or brother came home for holidays
from Bombay. Our village neighbours often borrowed it whenever they needed it.
Lighting it up always made me wary as it involved an element of risk – a rather
potentially flammable substance with increased risk from the pressurized tank
and the flame itself.
The petromax had an enormous lighting power of the value of 500 candlepower. It
had a luminosity equivalent to 4 units of 100 watt tungsten bulbs. Its bright
white light was nearly 5700 lumens. The white-washed walls reflected the light
and enhanced the interior of the house even more.
As a self-contained and independent apparatus, this powerful light-source had a
huge candle power to match. It comprised of many different parts and features.
It had to be first primed or pre-heated. This was done by igniting spirit in
the receptacle inside the round glass cover above the tank through an opening
below its chimney. To provide pressurized kerosene to light up, it had to be
pumped by hand. Among its other important features was an air-pressure gauge
that needed constant attention. The complete pump assembly was fitted into the
tank. The piston, rod and washer assembly were retrievable for checking the
expansion of the washer into the cylinder. This had to be kept in a trim shape
making sure it fitted snugly in order to provide optimum pumped pressure into
the tank quickly. This assembly locked in, and out of the way into the side of
the tank with a quarter-turn. Its most delicate part was the light source
itself – the mantle – a mesh bag of fabric made from rare earth elements. If
touched, rattled or shaken after it was lit and cooled after its first use,
chances were that its very existence could be history, as it would just fall
apart and disintegrate rapidly, crumbling and falling to pieces at the base of
the glass cover. Amazingly, this fragile net was the hub of the light source. A
torn mantle emitted diminished light with a reddish glow. A new mantle could be
installed by removing the top cover or hood and tied around the inverted flange
of the nozzle. The mantles could be purchased from dealers in the towns. They
felt like silk to the touch and came flat. On lighting up the mantle resembled
a modern incandescent light bulb.
The nipple had to be cleaned periodically - a manoeuvre requiring a special
technique. The automatic cleaning or the ‘pin-mar’ operation required deft
expertise. It was done by rapidly turning the cam-operated hand- wheel
clockwise and anti-clockwise within a fleeting fraction of a second. This wheel
could be also used to shut it off with the arrow on the wheel pointing upwards.
Holding it any longer than the ‘prescribed’ duration would mean throwing the
whole venue, litany or a mando-singing competition into complete darkness while
at the same time also demonstrating one’s incompetence publicly!
A quick ‘pin-mar’ action instantly gave the petromax a renewed brightness. The
mechanism consisted of a knob that operated a lever/cam fitted in turn
vertically to a fine pin to clean the tiny hole of air/fuel mixture nipple. The
pre-heater nozzles had to be cleaned manually by inserting a pin that was
attached to the end of a teaspoon-sized holder through a side opening.
I remember the time when we all sat around our sala for an occasion or
immediately after the litany when someone among the guests remarked in Konkani:
“Pin mar-re teka’, after noticing a slight drop in the glow of the petromax. In
technical terms this meant that the nipple must be cleaned with the pin action
by whoever is in charge. At this juncture I tend to wonder whether the
expression ‘pin marli’ in Konkani by any chance has been derived from this
action.
The original glass came in as one cylindrical piece. Local innovative craftsmen
were able to replace broken ones by putting together thin strips of glass
placed vertically around the grooved metal frame at the top and bottom. In fact
I felt that the glass strips were better as they gave out a prismatic effect.
The petromax reigned supreme and had successfully proven to be a very reliable
and powerful light source for large nightly gatherings for many decades. In the
old days many shops that did not have electricity used a petromax lantern. And
those that did have electricity used it as an emergency light source or
back-up.
There were also special ‘petromax’ lamps that could be rented from dealers and
suppliers in the towns. Some of these appliances were used for tiatros and
nataks. These special types were fitted with remote pressurized tanks that were
placed on the ground while an assembly of two lamps was hung high in front of
the stage facing the actors. They were connected by means of copper tubing to
the tanks. The complete assembly was even fitted with hinged flaps which could
be lowered, thereby partially dimming the lights. Thus, the ambience of a
particular stage scene in a Konkani or Marathi drama could be altered in order
to successfully create the required effect or to set a melancholy or sad mood.
An expert with a couple of assistants manned this system of lighting during the
entire show.
The petromax had proven to be very useful in lighting up social and cultural
events for many years. But then some years later when electricity came to the
villages along with the availability of portable generators, fluorescent tube
lights and re-chargeable battery-operated lanterns, the use and popularity of
these grand old lamps eventually diminished. They can still be seen around
being used in road-side tea-stalls, by hawkers and other vendors at the
beaches, fishermen and contractors, and in emergency situations.
A table model kerosene mantle lamp, with an elegant and pleasing appearance,
that was easier to use, was also visible on the night scene. This was none
other than the great Aladdin lamp. These types of lamps are collector’s items
now. With their characteristic tall glass chimney and distinct chrome-plated
vase-type base, they once stood tall and graced the centre or side table of
many white-washed ‘salas’ (sitting rooms) in Goan homes of yesteryear. Many
were brought in by Goans working in the Arabian Gulf in the late 1950’s. My
cousin brought one for us from Bahrain and we used it until circa 1970. It was
a pride to own one and also brought in extra joy and happiness in the home.
More light about it in another episode about the illumination devices of a
bygone era.
Tony Fernandes
http://www.tonferns.blogspot.com
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