Tambats in twilight zone

July 18, 2016

The roads around Shaniwar Wada are perhaps the busiest in the city. But just across, tucked away are the narrow by lanes of Kasba Peth are tiny houses where you can find some top-grade hand crafters. The golden rays ricocheting off the copper vessels… all neatly lined outside their humble homes. In the early hours of the day, these turn into workstations. Every footstep you take to enter Tambat Ali is met with the ‘tonk-tonk’ of the coppersmiths giving shape to the utensils. Alas, the number of craftsmen whose forefathers have enjoyed the patronage of the Peshwa reign is dwindling. .

Tambat Ali, or the alley of the tambats (coppersmiths), is a small settlement of artisans. Over 800 of them migrated to Pune in the 17th century under the patronage of the Peshwas. They beat copper to make artillery, royal seals, utensils and more for over three centuries. In a day and age where stainless steel and plastic have taken over our kitchens, this heritage art could well be fading into obscurity. Ramesh, who has been carrying out the occupation of art mixed with utility for years now rues: “This will stop one day, and it will happen soon. We can already see it happening.” His neighbour Sanjay echoes the same opinion as he sits down in his frontyard to resume work, “There used to be so many families in this alley keeping this craft alive, now there are less than 50 people doing it,” adds Sanjay.

The only association people today have with this declining craft is the copper being used as puja thalis or ornaments to decorate the house or hotels. “I have made sure my children do not end up in the same state as me,” Ramesh vents, adding: “They will study and work in any other profession than becoming a coppersmith.” For a man whose life has been spent creating tangible history passed down from generations, a decision like this is not easy. But it is inevitable and a lesson that time has taught him, “Now I earn three to four thousand a month which is peanuts in today’s time. There was a time when I would live comfortably on 50 rupees, but everything is so expensive now I cannot let my children meet the same fate.” As he reminisces about the past when as a young boy he started making copper wares, he reflects on an undeniable fact of what technology is doing to us. “In the beginning I would make a copper pot from scratch right here, now all we have to do is provide finishing touches to the copper utensils that come from factories,” says Ramesh. The machine-made utensils are of inferior quality as the mixture used is of lower grade, he says. The intrusion of middlemen in their profession has also been part of the reason for their low income returns.

As we walk further into Tambat Ali and enter one of the homes from where clouds of smoke are blocking our view, the process of the craft is revealed. A silver-haired man is bent over a furnace, as the flames ferociously lick at the copper vessel making it look like a treasure trove left behind by the Peshwas. The fiery orange object is then put into a sulphuric acid solution to uncover the end result. The old man known as Nandkishor rolls up his sleeves to show the marks left behind as he plays with fire everyday just to preserve a dwindling culture. It says a lot more about the dedication with which they craft out the utensils sans technological advancements. Walking through Tambat Ali is like being part of a black-and-white film.

The only odd sights are the few new age homes towering over. The traditional artisans who reside here are steadily on the decline as the generations to come move to occupations that will allow them to survive in the modern world. Lowcost fine finished imported goods are killing a sector that has been a part of history.