What you need:

Paraffin wax (one pound yields 20 ounces of liquid melted wax, that can help make 25 small tea-light candles or diyas)

Old candles can be melted if you can’t get paraffin wax

Candle thread

Candle moulds in any shape you want or terracotta diyas

Candle dye (in as many different colours you want)

All ingredients are available in crafts stores or New Market

How to make candles:

Chop wax (paraffin or old candles) into chunks. Fill half of a large pan with water and put on heat. Place a smaller vessel in it, as you would in a double boiler and put wax chunks inside. Turn heat on high and boil the water. Keep stirring the wax. When completely melted, white wax becomes a clear liquid. If you want to make coloured candles, add candle dye of one colour to the liquid. Stir well, so the dye gets completely mixed with the wax.

Take candle thread and snip into wicks. Keep in mind that at least two inches of the wick should be above the surface of the mould. Dip each piece of wick in the melted wax. Take the moulds and place the wicks inside. If your mould is round, the wick should be upright in the centre. If you have a traditional tear-drop-shaped diya mould, place the wick in the spout.

When the wax has melted completely, pour into the moulds till the brim.

To keep the wick in place, loop the end of the wick around a pen or even a clothes peg. Rest the pen or peg across the top of the diya or tea-light mould. Ensure that the wick is at the centre of the mould.

Let the diyas or moulds cool for 24 hours or more. The more they cool, the firmer they become. Once cooled, trim the wick to make it a quarter-inch long on the top of the candle.

TIPS:

Don’t ever melt wax directly on heat, it will burn. Always use a double boiler.

Do not let children handle hot wax. Always use tongs to handle the double boiler you’re melting wax in. Wax spills and burns are very common.

Always keep wet rags around your workspace so that you can throw them on the surfaces where you spill wax.

If you want glitter on your diyas, make sure you paint it on the surface of the containers before you pour in the wax.

Text: Neha Banka. Pictures: B. Halder and Sayantan Ghosh