From the Workshop
Notes for architects & trade
Workshop notes on sizes, finishes, metal and trade orders, from the Aligarh works. When you are ready to specify, open the catalogue or download the 2026 PDF.
What temple committees ask before ordering lanterns for a mandir corridor
Short hanging codes for a corridor under a stone soffit, longer ones for a mandap, finish against carved stone, and what to send before a festival order.
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Five mistakes with large wall lanterns on a tall Indian facade
Fourteen cast wall lantern codes from 20 to 32 inches tall, and the five mistakes that make a large lantern look wrong on a double-height entrance.
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Sizing a hanging lantern for a porch, a verandah and a double-height portico
One sample villa, three ceiling heights and 15 hanging lantern codes from 9 to 48 inches. How to pick the size that fits each soffit.
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Choosing a wall lantern for a wall that will carry a creeper
Five cast wall lantern codes compared for a planted wall, from a flush plate to arm-hung Gothic lanterns, with cable, glass and monsoon trimming notes.
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Jaali bollard lights for a garden path, set out in five steps
Square and round cast bollards with a cut lattice, 14 to 38 inches tall. How to place them along a garden path and pick a code for each stretch.
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Antique wall bracket lanterns for a porch or a gate pier
When an Antique scroll-arm lantern suits a porch, a side wall or a gate pier face, and how to read height and width before you shortlist a code.
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Twin-head lamp posts for parks and society lawns
Padma cast posts with two or three lanterns, sorted by upright or hanging arms, with heights from 30 to 108 inches and five checks for a park or lawn path.
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Square pillar lights for a contemporary gate: what architects ask
Four square Padma pillar heads for flat-roof elevations, how each sits on a cap, the flat-backed wall lanterns that suit them, finish choice and dispatch time.
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Clear or frosted glass: which panel each outdoor lantern needs
Frosted glass for lanterns seen face-on or up close, clear glass where the lamp sits high and should show. Five catalogue codes and one site walked from gate to door.
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Preparing a new villa gate pillar for its lantern
Pick the lantern code while the pillar is still brick, so the cable runs inside and the mason casts a flat cap at the right width for the head.
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What to confirm before packing a coastal lantern order
Six things architects and dealers should settle before a lantern lot ships to a coastal site: exposure, metal, finish, door seating, packing and sizes.
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Matte black or antique gold: choosing a finish for Indian gate pillars
How matte black and antique gold read on gate pillars, a side by side table, and how to keep a trade lot matched.
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Compound wall lights in India: seven mistakes to avoid before you order
Seven mistakes we see on compound wall lantern runs, from mismatched finishes to undecided packing, and what to send for a quote.
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Custom cast aluminium replica from your sample
What to send, what the Aligarh works checks, when we say no, and how a custom lantern quote works.
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Driveway pole light spacing for Indian sites
Centre to centre gaps, pole height and tree lines for Indian driveways, with notes on batch finish and what to send for a quote.
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How far a porch pendant should hang
Soffit height, underside clearance and wind for a porch pendant. The hanging range itself is on the catalogue page.
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Where to mark a wall lantern on the elevation
Centre height on a gate, porch or compound wall: glare, bracket clearance, and the three tape readings to send.
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Empty housing or glass and LED: what to order from Aligarh
When an empty cast aluminium housing makes sense, when the head should ship with glass and LED fitted, and what to write on the quote.
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Pillar size to lantern size: how to measure for a gate light
Measure the pillar cap, not the shaft. A five minute tape method, common Indian cap widths and what to send for a sized quote.
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How dealers should stock the first 12 SKUs from the Padma catalogue
A starter stocking map of twelve real catalogue codes across gate, wall, hanging and pole lights, with notes on batch finish and ordering.
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Diwali and wedding season outdoor lighting for societies and RWAs
Festival peaks for societies: permanent fittings versus temporary sparkle, bulk timing from Aligarh, finish consistency and an RWA quote checklist.
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Farmhouse and large gate lighting: what to specify
Pillars, driveways and boundary walls on farmhouses across India, with notes for architects and dealers on specs, batch finish and catalogue lots.
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What to consider when choosing exterior lighting for an Indian home
Gate, wall, hanging, pole. What the Aligarh works asks before quoting: pillar size, cast aluminium, door joints and finish.
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Why we are not on IndiaMART: buy from the manufacturer's site
Portal fees and empty enquiries. The shop window is the website. The counter is WhatsApp at the Aligarh works.
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Powder Coat and Antique Finish for Coastal and Desert Air
Powder coat is the skin and antique is the wipe. Humidity, door joints and green stain inside the glass, and what is cosmetic versus the body.
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Buying in Aligarh from the workshop, not the bazaar
Aligarh has stalls and it has works. What to lift, how to order remotely, and when a pillar photo is enough.
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What I send architects when they ask for a spec sheet
Die-cast aluminium, powder coat, B22, real sizes and trade terms: what we email when a drawing needs a lantern, with no invented IP ratings.
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What a North Indian Monsoon Does to a Gate Light
What July rain does to iron versus cast aluminium, and what the warranty covers.
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Bazaars, Bags and the China Problem: My 2026 Lighting Market Road Trip
A few weeks travelling from Agra to Bangalore to Hyderabad with sample lights in a bag. Dealers on Kilari Road, Troop Bazar and New Osman Gunj told me about China's price takeover, and why quality still matters.
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How to choose the right gate light for your home
Size the lantern to the pillar. Cast aluminium for anything that stays outside, and a finish that matches the gate.
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Aluminium vs iron outdoor lights: which lasts longer?
Cast aluminium. Iron stains the pillar within two or three years. What to check when a listing says cast aluminium.
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Cast aluminium lighting for hotels and resorts
A project lot is quoted separately from the catalogue piece price. Match the finish, and measure the entrance caps.
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Garden path or driveway: choosing pole height and material
A garden walk and a driveway should not share a pole height. The range and the measured spacing each have their own page.
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Outdoor Lights for Builders, Housing Societies & Real Estate Projects
Counts, a date and the RWA. The lot is cast and powder-coated in Aligarh, and we quote within 24 hours.
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Choosing the light outside an Indian door
Warm colour, a finish that matches the gate, and why the pillar head and the wall lantern are different jobs.
Read articleSpecify from the works catalogue
Read the guides, then pull model codes from the live catalogue or the 2026 PDF. Architects and trade buyers WhatsApp the Aligarh desk for quotes.