Candles in the Goan monsoon

From June to September Goa is wet, warm and dark by early evening, and it is the season when people light the most candles. It is also the season that is hardest on them.

Keep candles with their lids on, in a closed cupboard away from outside walls. Damp air will not harm the wax itself, but it gets into wicks, and a damp cotton wick spits and struggles to light. If a wick is damp, light it, let it burn for a minute, and blow it out; the next lighting will be easy.

Incense suffers more. Sticks and cones take up moisture and then smoulder unevenly or go out. Store them in an airtight jar or a zip bag with a sachet of rice or silica, and they will keep perfectly through the rains. If a box has gone soft, lay the sticks in the sun for an hour on the first bright day.

Reed diffusers evaporate more slowly in humid air, so a bottle can last longer in the monsoon than in May. Flip the reeds a little more often if the scent seems faint, and wipe any mould spots from the bottle with a dry cloth. For power cuts, keep two beeswax pillars and a box of matches where you can find them in the dark. Beeswax gives a brighter flame than soy, burns for hours and drips very little. Stand them on a plate, away from curtains.