LAMP SHADE Yesterday Iwas watching a beautiful film in Malayalam TV Channel- ZEE Kerala- “Prakasan Parakkette”. Inone scene I saw an electric bulb with white plastic shade in the home. Nostalgicmemories about lamp shades came to me.
When my homein native got electric power connection in 1963, only bulbs with shade were provided in hall, kitchen,bed room, veranda etc. These bulbs had shade made of metal with coating whiteinside and green outside. These shades concentrated light from the bulb downwards. During theperiod street lights on electric posts were also with bulbs, with compulsory shade. Theshade and bulb connection were provided in the end of a curved tube. The shadeprevented water falling on the bulb. Often during day time we got confusedwhether the electric bulb was ON seeing the sunlight falling on bulb andcreating illusion like a false desert lake. On those daysfor more light towards outside during functions, a high wattage bulb wasextended towards outside using temporary wire fixing from Plug point. A switchfor plug point was not known. Rich homeshad compound lights fitted on curved tube like in electric posts, fitted on tiles.Cement was used to fix, cover the hole made and avoid leakage. On those days electric connection whetherproof wires were taken through such a curved pipe fitted on tile if the housewas on a low level. If the home was atheight, mostly the smoke tile was used instead of curved pipe to lead inwhether proof wire. Three phase supply was not known to ordinary persons. To my irony, samearch was brought by my engineer for two compound lights over terrace, fitted onparapet wall. Wiring was concealed. Only difference, the bulbs had a glass coverin addition. I replaced the bulbs with CFL initially and later with LED bulbs. Later metalshades were replaced by many with glass shades of different colors withthickness. After a few years using of shades got stopped. Bulbs with higherwatts became common in use. Shade for bulbs became an obsolete item. I havenostalgic memories of Physics lecture hall near stair case in my college athome had four electric bulbs with shade and they were put ON by lecturer ifroom was felt slightly dark. By 1964 end, whenI came to Chennai, the telegraph room where I worked had both bulbs with shadeand tube lights with shade suspended from roof. Twin tube lights were provided,all suspended, with shade to concentrate light down wards. I could gather thebulbs were switched ON during electric power-supply failure which was workingat low voltage and wattage using batteries. There was separate battery room, a juniorengineer in charge, and cells were very big to the size of 1.5’x1.5’x2’ size. On those dayssingle fitting of tube light was there, used in office rooms, but with shadeand suspended from roof. Wall fitting was not a practice. Wall fittingwithout shade, single and double, with electrical chokes first appeared. Onething I missed to include in the beginning was the starter for the tube-light. Starter isactually a capacitor. Electronic chokes appeared which had less weight and theyrequired no starter. Currently LED tube-lights which are single with lightweight have come. Current tube light wiring/ replacement are with LED tube-lights. Still tube lightand electronic choke are not gone out of market, many homes have tube lightsstill with them. Compoundlights in the first floor level has mostly become a single unit with ametallic/ PVC top and fitted on angle coming with the unit. Or some are fittedon the angle. To myknowledge LED compound lights too would have come in the market, but I have notyet purchased. Even the bulk-fitting for compound light have come with LED andvery light which I have provided. These are installed normally under windowshade in RCC in homes. R. Gopalakrishnan, 79 , dated 26-9-2022 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1487136996.619989.1664187988874%40mail.yahoo.com.
