Over century old brass craftsmanship on the verge of extinction

The brass craftsmen of Hoshiarpur, who used to make brass utensils and handicrafts in cottage industries, had an identity of their own for over one-and-a-half century. The utensils made here were in great demand, especially in Himachal. Those were the days when brass utensils, especially the ‘valtohi’ and ‘gagar’, had a great demand, along with plates, bowls, tumblers and other daily use utensils.

The large-sized ‘kadi wale glass’ were famous across Punjab, especially for serving lassi or milk. With time, brass went out of fashion and was replaced by steel, aluminium and non-stick utensils, hitting the craftsmen hard.

Started by a few craftsmen about 150 years ago, the brass craftsmanship of Hoshiarpur gained an identity of its own and soon a large number of people got involved in the business. In the pre-Independence period there were about 70 workshops that made fine utensils and decorative items from brass. The ‘gagar’, ‘valtohi’, ‘deg’ and various other things made in Hoshiarpur were much in demand in the whole of North-India.

It is said before Partition, people from Peshawar used to visit the city to buy brass items. After Independence, the government started to allot a quota of brass and copper at controlled rates to the workshops on a par with industries. This gave a boost to the brass craftsmanship and it developed into a profitable cottage industry. The number of workshops rose to over 100. But it didn’t last long. Around 1990, the brass quota for the craftsmen was abolished, which led to an immediate closure of many workshops. There were still 40-45 people, who decided to continue with the craft, by buying brass from open market.

However, it was not financially viable for the smaller players as profits decreased and input costs went up. Most of them could not last long and more and more workshops started closing. The owners either became workers in other workshops or had to switch occupation. Very few from the new generations of the craftsmen families were continuing the artisanship. Adding to their woes, there was no aid or programme for promotion of the craft from the government side. Facing tough times, the cottage industry is on the verge of closure with not many craftsmen are left in the field. The remaining workshops are run by the aged craftsmen, who are not ready to leave their ancestral occupational heritage. Most of them have turned taken a different direction — of making ‘kalash’, ‘naag’ gumbad’, ‘gada’, ‘farsa’, ‘trishul’ and other religious signs from brass.

At present, 20 workshops are left in Hoshiarpur and most of them making heavy ‘valtohi’. Only six of these are making utensils and other items, including religious signs and decorative items.

Craftsman Amar is among the luckier ones who are assisted by the next generation. His two sons — aged 23 and 33 — work with him.

Amar says, “There was nothing left in this business. The younger lot is least interested to join their ancestral profession. They don’t want to work in tough conditions, melting metal, making utensils, doing hard and dangerous labour for a meagre profit margin of Rs 80 to 150. This craftsmanship will become extinct if no support is extended by the government. The people are slowly realising the health benefits of using brass utensils and hazards of aluminium and non-stick utensils. ”

Punjab