Gift for your grandmother: something for Dadi's or Nani's mandir, and how to keep it safe for herGift for your grandmother: something for Dadi's or Nani's mandir, and how to keep it safe for her

Dadi's day starts at the mandir

Ask most Indian grandchildren what their grandmother does every single day, and the answer is the same: the morning diya, the aarti, the few minutes in front of the mandir before anyone else is awake. A gift for that corner of the house is used daily and noticed by everyone who visits. It also comes with one responsibility, which we put first.

Safety before anything else

A candle is a flame, and a grandmother may be lighting it alone at 6 am. Before you buy, be honest:

• If her eyesight is poor, her hands shake, or she sometimes forgets things, give the candle as decor only, unlit. Several of ours, the lotus and the shankh especially, are made to look finished on a shelf without a flame.
• If she does light it: a stable, heat-proof surface, away from the mandir cloth, the curtain and her dupatta; never unattended; and keep each burn to 3 to 4 hours.
• Tell someone else in the house. A grandchild or a helper who checks the mandir is worth more than any rule on a box.

Our short page are candles a good gift for older people is a quick check if you are unsure.

Gifts for her mandir and her room

Raajkosh hand-pours soy wax candles in Jalandhar. For a grandmother:

The Shankh Candle with the Lotus Candle is Rs 1,148 and ships free, since shipping is free from Rs 999. The Lotus Candle with the Diya Candles is Rs 798, plus Rs 79 shipping.

Why diyas without oil help an older hand

Filling clay diyas with ghee or oil, setting the batti and cleaning the black off afterwards is fiddly work for stiff fingers. Wax diyas remove the pouring and the spilling. She still lights a diya; she just does not have to prepare it. For many grandmothers that is the most useful thing in the box.

Making it from all the grandchildren

Grandmothers keep the things grandchildren send. A few ideas:

• Write every grandchild's name in the gift note, oldest to youngest, the way she would list them.
• If you want "Dadi" or "Nani" on the tag, a custom enquiry on our custom orders page does that; we reply with what is possible, a timeline and a price.
• Time it with something she cares about: her birthday, Karva Chauth if she still keeps it, Diwali, or the first visit home after a long time.

Gifts for her that are not candles

If she would rather have a warm shawl, a large-print Hanuman Chalisa or Sukhmani Sahib, a soft cotton saree, a pair of good slippers or a video call set up on a big-screen phone, those come from local shops, booksellers and electronics stores, and are often more useful than anything we make. A candle is right for the grandmother whose day starts at the mandir.

Sending it to her house

We deliver across India, dispatching in 24 to 48 hours and delivering 2 to 7 days after dispatch. Put the phone number of whoever answers the door, which may not be her. Payment is prepaid only (UPI, card, net banking or wallet); there is no cash on delivery, so nobody at her door is asked to pay. Shop orders can be returned on a request within 24 hours of delivery, and damage reported within 24 hours is replaced or refunded.