Suvo Palit readies to release the fanush from his EE Block terrace

Flying sky lanterns or fanush is a tradition of north Calcutta households but was on the wane post-1990. But over the last two years it was back with the availability of readymade “Chinese fanush” in the market. Several such lanterns could be spotted from our Salt Lake home in the evenings leading up to Kali Puja.

This whetted my childhood curiosity for this sport and last year I decided to give it a try. I discussed with some old timers, including my father, who could recall their childhood experiences. All the veterans were strictly of the opinion that the making of the fanush was an integral part of the sport and that flying readymade lanterns was just half the fun as the challenge was missing. So I decided to make my own flying lanterns.

The process started with buying butter paper, kite sticks for the rim, paraffin and tissue paper to make the fuel and annealed wire to suspend the fuel from. Last year’s experience had taught me that the greatest challenge was striking the right balance between weight and durability. Symmetry of the lantern is equally important as otherwise it would tilt and catch fire. A trick learned from the internet came in handy — that of adding streamers at the bottom. Besides looking good, these also add stability while flying.

It took hours of backbreaking work to cut the paper to size, fix them to form the structure, form the rim and fit it to the paper structure and affix the paper roof. Then the fuel was made and suspended from the lantern using the wire. We made two lanterns over three days. It is not possible to make a sky lantern alone. I was constantly assisted by my parents and wife while both my daughters provided encouragement throughout. At last, the lanterns looked set to fly.

After last year’s success, many friends came across the photograph in The Telegraph Salt Lake and reprimanded me for not inviting them. So, this year, invitations went out over phone, Facebook and Whatsapp and we had a group of 30 at the launch. As two of my cousins held up the first lantern, I applied the fire to the fuel. After some nudges, the lantern took off and flew steadily upwards till it was just a dot in the sky. The cameras went click-click and there were plenty of high-fives and clapping all around. The second lantern was launched similarly but after floating a bit, one of the walls caught fire and it did not fly like the first one. Everyone left satisfied and after extracting a promise from me to continue this in the coming years.

The fanush is a nice way of holding on to our traditions and celebrating Deepawali in an eco-friendly manner. I am sure we will see more Salt Lake citizens revive this sport and our autumn skies would be lit up with countless flying lanterns in the next few years.