Can those who are in their seventies or late sixties especially the ones from the countryside forget their experience of night and light in their early days? Night invariably implies darkness. And darkness is what we try to avoid. We came out of primeval forests eons ago but we still carry the legacy they bequeathed us; the fear of darkness.

Fear of darkness is in fact fear of unknown. Belly of darkness can spring any surprise at us. Not being sure of the nature of surprise is what rattles us most. It’s understandable why there has been widespread worship of sun god in all ancient cultures which stands as a negation of darkness and a source and symbol of light.

Surya is the sun but is also the solar deity in Indian tradition. It’s invoked by its multiple names such as Ravi, Aditya, Savitr, Pushan, for example. Sun is what liberates us from fear with its light which in multiple ways sustains life on our planet. Religious scriptures remind us the role of light in our life. “1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. [3] And God said, let there be light: and there was light” says the Bible. Before light there was amorphous darkness. “[3] Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning; with no distinguishing sign, all this was water. The life force that was covered with emptiness, that one arose through the power of heat,” says Rig- Veda in Nasadiya Sukta (translation; Wendy Doniger). This hymn of creation hints at the interconnectedness of heat and light.

Night which is absence of light marks the cessation of work and indicates a period of rest in the natural cycle. But absence of light means darkness and what it brings forth; nocturnal creatures and predators. Above all, it helps a certain type of persons to go out on the hunt, looking for the activities they cannot do in the day. Thus night carries dread that is a carry-over from the workings of natural and social world. We live in dread of night i.e. darkness which is a perennial source of uncertainty.

In our social world night also has a positive dimension; it offers one space to be oneself away from the inane social clatter of the day. Shah Husain aka Madho Lal Husain (16th century), a unique poet, mystic and rebel, talks of night as a liberating time, an opportunity to meditate and explore in a playful state what is denied during the day.

Day is shaped by the social demands of the prevalent system. He juxtaposes night with the day hinting at the emancipatory aspect of night that can help humans to realise their potential buried under debris of dos and don’ts.

But still night is night for overwhelming number of people who experience it as a pall of darkness that has within its innards all kinds of demons. But the experience of night during the last six or seven decades has been transformative. Previously, the experience till 1960s particularly in the countryside was quite different. Firstly, clay lamp was used in the homes and shops in the night. This simple lamp in round or oval shape with depression produced by the potters would be filled with mustard oil and its thick wick lighted. It would be placed in a niche meant for it. Drippings of oil would make the place messy and its glow would light an area of a few yards. The practice continued for centuries if not for thousands of years.

Clay lamp was replaced in about 1940s by kerosene lamp made of metal in a round shape different from the clay lamp. It gave the impression of being vertical as the wick in it was held upright while clay lamp looked horizontal as it held its wick horizontally. The former emitted a foul smell of burning kerosene. After a decade or so lantern became available. Lantern was ‘a portable protective case for a light with transparent openings’. It was Chinese lantern that became hugely popular as it was portable with a collapsible translucent covering that kept it burning even in a windy night. It was perhaps produced by a company called good man.

In Punjabi language a new phrase got currency; it was a big appreciation for a man if he was called ‘good man the laltain’. It meant that a man with a lantern was good person who lit the night and dispelled the darkness. The word lantern was appropriated as ‘laltain’. In more affluent houses in the countryside lantern was gradually replaced by glass lamp which was something students craved for because it not only looked better but also gave bright light. During the times people used clay lamp, kerosene lamp, lantern and glass lamp it was the duty of one of the members of the family to clean the device and tank it up. The blackened glass with soot from the previous night had to be rinsed to have vibrant light. Sun is the source of light in the day. Devices made by us produce light in the night -- closed spaces even in the day are lit by man-made devices -- that keeps us away from the dread of darkness.

Light produced by fire has eternal fascination for us. That’s why it has been worshiped since times immemorial. Fire when discovered or invented not only dispelled darkness but also provided us protection against cold, cooked food, a means to mould metals revolutionising the process of human evolution.

Greek mythology tells us that Prometheus stole fire from god Zeus and brought it to earth. And ‘as vengeance on Prometheus, Zeus had him nailed to a mountain in Caucasus and sent an eagle to eat his immortal liver, which constantly replenished itself’.

History of light produced by human ingenuity shows how it has transformed human life. Without light it would be impossible to conceive our anthropocene age. So bow to the fire, bow to the light, which joined at the hip, make us what we are regardless of whether it’s day or night. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024