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Priyanka Jayashankar

The austere 1990s have faded away in the glare of glitzy contemporary lighting systems. Opulent fittings and Swarovski chandeliers throw light on indulgent lifestyles.

While the 1990s were all about replacing ornate lamps with simple halogens, coloured lamps and Swarovski chandeliers are back with vengeance.

Chandelier-lit dinners

With theme-based restaurants mushrooming in metros, lighting presents exciting challenges for interior designers and architects. "Various moods are created through lighting in speciality restaurants," says K.S. Money, chief architect of K.S.M. Consultants, Chennai. While coloured lights are ideal for coffee pubs, a traditional Spanish or a Moroccan setting would be incomplete without Moorish light fittings.

Cedars, a Lebanese restaurant in Chennai, for instance has a European ambience, with a couple of Arab motifs thrown in. The light enters through Mediterranean-style domes. Mellow lights come from lamps made of coloured glass (imported from the UAE) and zero-watt bulbs. To create a "lounge effect", Rajit Methras, associate architect at Natarajan-Venkat Associates, designed a cove where ceiling lights could be mounted. The hidden lighting illuminates the blue walls and the triangular Arab patterns. As Cedars is set in an old bungalow, families can feel at home in its brightly lit interiors.

For a whiff of hookah in the evening, there are, of course, some diffused landscape lights in the patio.

Ethnic and futuristic

Indian interiors are beginning to have an eclectic mix of traditional and futuristic light fittings. "Since Indians are culturally oriented, designers are combining rustic lamps with contemporary light fittings," says S. Gargi, an interior designer in Chennai.

Fisherman's Cove, the beach resort of the Taj group of hotels, on the outskirts of Chennai, has a combination of colonial and contemporary lamps. Colonial lamps and terracotta fittings give the rooms an old-world charm, as the sea resort is located within a 300-year-old fort. The relics, however, are highlighted using contemporary halogens.

The resort's structural engineer, Iswaran Shankar, has avoided chandeliers or opulent light fixtures to provide a natural setting. Metal halide lamps installed along the beach give "a daylight effect" after sunset. Although seeped in history, the resort has not lost track of the latest lighting technology. To conserve electricity, compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) lamps have been used in the rooms and cottages. The conference hall has an eco-friendly lighting system.

Brightening up offices

Task light fittings (for work areas such as kitchens and study rooms) have taken a beating with the emergence of indirect lighting. Money has mounted category-2 light fittings (that can refract light uniformly), CFLs and mirror optics at the American Express office in Chennai. "Software professionals prefer lighting that can be refracted sideways since 90 per cent of their work is done on the screen," he observes. Methras also uses more of indirect lighting in offices. "In India, people focus more on task lighting," he says.

Fibre optic ceiling lights, energy saving lamps, CFL down-lighters are among the fast-moving light fittings for commercial buildings. "Corporates are going in for simple designs," says Stephen Dawson, spokesman for Curio Light Barn, a retail outlet for light fittings. Small-town businesses are also fancying austere fittings. Curio Light Barn recently supplied fibre optic lights for a business complex at Kannur in Kerala.

One for the family

Accent lighting (to illuminate showpieces) is in vogue in homes. "Shadow play through Swarovski crystals embedded in lights and mock candles for chandeliers, is becoming popular," says Gargi. To throw light on her Waterford and Swazi crystal collection, Usha Ravishankar, a housewife, has fixed CFLs in her newly constructed house. In a do-it-yourself style, without the help of interior decorators, she has installed Swarovski chandeliers and African wooden lamps. "I use the Swarovski chandeliers only when the African lights are off. Though the chandeliers are aesthetically appealing, they generate a lot of heat," she says. Affirming that halogens do not have "a family look", she has mounted argon lamps that appear homely and, at the same time, elegant. For family get-togethers, electric candles are fixed on the chandeliers.

Interior designers are using more sophisticated accent lights for art galleries. Gargi has chosen track lighting for a Tanjore art gallery. The spotlights can be adjusted at different angles for each painting. As Tanjore pictures reflect light, the glare of the spotlights has also been reduced, she adds.

Old lamps for new

Gone are the days of plain, uninviting tubelights, as acrylic and steel covers now add an extra spark to them. CFL lamps, with lower wattage, have more takers, says Money. Fittings made of stainless steel are also selling briskly. Eco-friendly lighting, which is too pricey for homes, is confined to hotels and corporate offices. Solar-power lights and halogens, however, are still slow moving.

Pole-shaped landscape lights with aluminium casting are in fashion, says Curio Barn's Dawson. While Wipro, Philips and Thorn are leading the pack in commercial lighting, Morano (Italy) and Elkamet (Germany), which come in colonial as well as contemporary designs, are gaining prominence among households. Far-Eastern brands have big market share but residential lights made by small Indian companies still have a foothold. Indian designs are laggards in the market, with the exception of Chettinad/Rajasthani lamps that have a niche clientele.

Convenience takes precedence over aesthetics. As brass fittings need frequent lacquering, customers are going in for fittings with industrial designs. Consequently, brass lamps from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, gather dust. International designs are merging with Indian interiors and "the awareness about different styles of lighting has increased," adds Gargi. But in an inevitable power cut, no lamp, be it antique or swanky, can brighten up the hallway. Then, it would be better to light a candle than to curse the darkness!

Picture by Shaju John/Location courtesy: Cedars, Chennai.

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