Floor lamps have a reputation problem in India. The assumption is that they belong in large Western living rooms — the kind with high ceilings, open floor plans, and the luxury of unused corners. In a compact Indian flat, the thinking goes, there simply isn’t room. That assumption is wrong — and it’s keeping a genuinely useful lighting tool out of most Indian homes. The...

Floor lamps have a reputation problem in India. The assumption is that they belong in large Western living rooms — the kind with high ceilings, open floor plans, and the luxury of unused corners. In a compact Indian flat, the thinking goes, there simply isn’t room. That assumption is wrong — and it’s keeping a genuinely useful lighting tool out of most Indian homes. The...