brown sand available in the nearby Cauvery river bed was exclusive and most suitable to mould their products. This sand is known as "vandal sand". The lamps are made by resident artisans called Pathers (Kammalar) who are living in large numbers at Kammalar street of Natchiyarkovil. Process The Nachiarkoil lamp is made both in bell metal and brass; brass is more in vogue now since it is easily available and cheaper. The lamp has four components which are: parts—base "Keezhbagam (base plate), "kandam" meaning pivotal post, "Thanguli" a bowl with five groves to hold wicks and oil for lighting, and the "Prabhai" which is the crown. The lamps that are made in a standing form or a pedestal form are given the prefix of Nachiarkoil. Other forms of lamps are hung from the ceiling in temples or "deepams". These lamps are extensively ornamented. The materials used to make the lamp are box-moulded, wax-moulded, or loam-moulded. These are made in an open space where fire hazards are of the least concern. To facilitate proper moulding, the key component materials used are: the brown vandal sand exclusively drawn from the Cauvery river bed about 1 km from the Nachiarkoil town used in all types of moulding; "Karuman sand" (used for wax moulding) of pale red colour, available in the town itself; "Savuttu sand", available in light grey colour, used in wax moulding and available in the tank beds in the vicinity of the town. The admixture used in box-moulding is clay powder in certain proportion depending on the type of moulding used. Other materials used are white dammar, a type of resin drawn from coniferous trees, and castor oil. Cow-dung cakes are the common type of fuel employed to melt the metal before it is poured into the moulds. Parting sand is used to facilitate easy removal of the moulded product. Box-moulding is used extensively as it is a quicker and cheaper mode of manufacture. Nowadays modern machinery is used to make the lamps. See also Other lamps Butter lamp Diya lamp Nilavilakku lamp Sky lantern Types of Indian oil lamps Related topics Aarti Diwali Rangoli List of light sources References Indian metalwork Economy of Tamil Nadu Geographical indications in Tamil Nadu Thanjavur district Types of lamp Indian furniture