Once upon a time, hazak or pressurised kerosene lamp was an absolute must to illuminate Bangladeshi households and different junkets like wedding ceremony, jatra (open-air theatrical drama), circus or bazaar.
It was in great demand. But gone are the days-now there's a different tale to tell.
Hazak, widely branded as a Petromax lamp, has mostly died out as people hardly use it in everyday life.
However, it is still in use, but on a very limited scale, in remote areas, particularly in poultry and fish farms as day-old chicks need 40 hours of bright light.
As it is difficult to use ordinary electric lights, farmers opt for this traditional lamp.
After rainy season, at the beginning of winter, when waters in rivers and canals decrease, many hunt fish by burning hazak at night as fish rushes to hazak's high-powered bright light.
But it only lasts a couple of months in a year.
Kabir Ahmed, a 45-year-old trader at Trishal, said he even had seen the widespread use of hazak at marriage ceremonies, jatra or bazaar until 2000.
At the turn of this millennium, it started to disappear dramatically for massive electricity coverage in his area… And now is the age of rechargeable lights, he told the FE.
"One day, people would visit the museum to see this centuries-old traditional lamp," commented Mr Ahmed.
Even, 30 years ago, people of all walks of life rented hazak for festivals like wedding, puja, procession or religious gathering, according to him.
Septuagenarian Sultan Mahmud, the proprietor of A Rahman and Sons at Chakmogoltuli near Chawkbazar, has said his father used to supply and sell different local and foreign hazak brands at almost every village of the country since the British period.
Mahmud, who now sells stationery and apparel items, says as he rarely receives any customer for hazak, he has fully halted its sale.
Once, most hazak retailers from elsewhere gathered at his father's shop for this lantern, but no clients come today for this changed scenario, he told the FE.
A group of fishermen, pavement traders and canvassers are found using hazak on a very limited scale, according to him.
Fazle Hossain Ripon, proprietor of Fazle Hossain Trading Corporation at Chakmogoltuli's Fazle Tower, said hazak was radiant enough to spread light equivalent to a 5-watt ordinary electric lamp.
Four to five traders are now selling this traditional lantern at Chawkbazar market in the old part of Dhaka as very few people buy it now, he added.
Fishermen in Sirajganj, Tangail and Munshiganj and in haor areas are only found using hazak to catch fish with its high-powered light, said Mr Ripon.
When asked why hazak's day is gone, the trader said the lamp was not user-friendly and, in some cases, complicated. Rechargeable lights have replaced it almost fully.
There is also a risk of triggering fire while using the hazak lantern, he argued.
High-powered light is required to catch fish, so some fishermen still hinge on hazak as they do not find its alternative, according to Mr Ripon. People now tend to use IPS, generator or charger lamp instead of hazak, he observed.
Local importers only bring in the light from Chinese brand Anchor, according to Mr Ripon, saying that some locally made lamps are found available in the market.
Citing the sales volume as very poor, the trader said he could sell only five to six units of hazak light every month.
He does not have any idea of its current total market size in the country.
Md Shahidur Rahman, proprietor of Dewan Enterprise, imports 700 cartons of the pressurised lanterns of Chinese-brands Sea Anchor and Anchor in a year.
He can sell 700 cartons in five to six years.
The trader has been supplying the product since 2018.
Every carton carries six pieces of lamp, said Mr Rahman who imports different electric items, including hazak.
Accessories are also available at Chawkbazar market.
Fishermen are the main clients of hazak, Mr Rahman claimed.
Petromax is a brand name for a type of pressurised kerosene lamp that uses a mantel.
Petromax lamp was made in 1910 in Germany by Max Graetz (1851-1937), who also named the brand, on the basis of a spirit lamp that already became well-known.
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