The bicycle of Narendra Sahu (48) of Katapali here has been a crowd-puller at the Dhanu Yatra here.
His bicycle has been fitted with a lamp to make his peddling smooth. And the curiosity does not end here. The lamp is made in Germany and does not have bulb but glows using Calcium Carbide.
Although bicycle was the most commonly used mode of transport with advent of urbanisation, its use has gradually been on a downslide. And with rural areas devoid of electricity, battery-operated lamps were found fitted in the bicycles of the rich and the powerful.
But the lamp fitted in the bicycle of Narendra has a lot of advantages. Procured by his grandfather in 1900, the lamp is still functioning and has a reflector behind the flame to help project the light forward generated by the calcium carbide. Moreover, it can be detached and be taken to places.
The light is fitted with a tank in which calcium carbide is poured along with water. The chemical reaction of the calcium carbide and water produces Acetylene gas which when ignited generates flame. The tank has two chambers and while the lower chamber contains the calcium carbide, the upper one is filled with water. A threaded valve controls the rate at which the water is allowed to drip into the chamber containing the calcium carbide. By controlling the rate of water flow, the production of acetylene gas is controlled. This, in turn, controls the flow rate of the gas and the size of the flame at the burner.
When all of the carbide in a lamp has been used, the carbide chamber contains a wet paste of slaked lime (calcium hydroxide). This is emptied into a waste bag and the chamber can be refilled. And with calcium carbide priced at ` 80 per kg, Narendra said that 250 grams of the Calcium carbide keeps the flame going continuously for 15 to 20 hours. Once you close the water flow, the lamp stops glowing.
Terming it as his prized possession, Narendra said on his return to home, he opens it and whenever he has to ride his bicycle after dusk, he fits it to his bicycle. He is fascinated with the huge attention his lamp has been drawing from visitors to the Dhanu Yatra and hoped that it will ignite young minds to innovate similar things.