NEW DELHI, INDIA, June 3, 2016 (Indian Express): Ever seen the Hindu Gods Shiva, Vishnu and Hanuman as well as Indian Goddesses Kali and Saraswati on the labels of matchboxes? And that too matchboxes made in Austria, Sweden and Japan? When matchboxes made their first appearance in India just before the start of the previous century, they had labels in vibrant colors, with pictures that made them appealing to the average Indians.
Thousands of attractive labels of virtually all the matchboxes imported to or manufactured in India since then are on display at the India International Centre here, revealing a rich history for over a century. “Sweden was the largest producer of matchboxes when they started being made”, explained Gautam Hemmady, 59, an architect by profession who began collecting matchbox labels in January 2012 and now sits on a mammoth pile of matchboxes.
The earliest matchboxes, Hemmady stated, had non-religious labels. But at some point the companies in Sweden, Austria and Japan decided that the better way to woo the Indian buyers would be through religious motifs. Thus, matchboxes from Sweden had labels of — the spellings then were mostly different — Hindu Gods Vishnu, Thirumurthi, Laxmi, Gayatri, Durga, Ganesha, Lav-Kush as well as Krishna. Adorning the labels of Japanese matchboxes were Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva (with Japanese features) and Kali.