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The intricate and exquisite Bidriware was developed during the
medieval times. Today items of Bidriwork are popular in India as well
as abroad.
As you wind through the
cobble-stoned lanes of Bidar, 75 miles north-west of Hyderabad, you
will be bedazzled by the wealth of traditional and colourful
artifacts that festoon the once fabulously rich township of he
Bahmani and Baridi dynasties. Amidst the embers of this famous
historic settlement flourishers the conspicuously striking handicraft
of Bidriware, splendiferous in beauty and design and scintillating
in exquisite craftsmanship.
I was six months ago when
I visited the town in the state of Karanataka, that I first
encountered bidriware. Captivated, I would potter in the market
daily, examining the intricacies of the craft, enthusiastically. On
one such occasion I learnt two very interesting, though conflicting,
accounts regarding the origin of bidriwork.
Abdullah-bin-Khaiser, an
expert in bidriware, according to one version, migrated to Bidar in
the 11th century and joined hands with an equally
proficient goldsmith familier with the secrets of the trade. Together
they gave impetus to the craft, as a result, bidri became an
integral part of goldsmity.
Another popular tale
recounts that one of the hindu kings of Bidar innovated the crafts
of bidriware, using the articles thus decorated to hold flowers and
other offerings in honour of his household Gods. Later, under the
patronage of he aesthetically conscious Mohammedan rulers, indigenous
manufacturers were extended both co-operation and encouragement and
in course of time Bidriwork reached its zenith in perfection, design
and finesse.
It is said that Akbar,
the famous Mughal Emperor was so fond of this art that he personally
supervised the work in is Royal Armoury.
The traditional art of
damascening in silver or Koftgari work, as Bidri is popularly known,
entails encrusting one metal into another in the form of a wire. It
is akin to the ancient art of inlying gold and silver in copper and
steel which was practiced in Persia and Arbia at one time. It is
believed that the know-how was brought to India from these countries
but took an altogether different form which has become the
speciality of Bidar from where it derives its name.
The origin of the
technical aspect of bidriware is not definitely known. It appears
that like other Persian articles of metal with scripts and designs
produced by inlaying gold and silver, this particular type of work
was probably developed by experimenting with various alloys to
guarantee brilliance by contrast. The resultant ingredient was an
alloy of zinc and copper combined with other non-ferrous metals.
The new alloy, thus
produced, is of a brittle nature but does not rust or corrode and has
the additional advantage of allowing a better polish. At the local
factory I was fascinated to find that each bidri utensil had to pass
through a long complicated process of casting, polishing, engraving,
inlaying and blackening of the alloy before the final product was
ready for the market. The casting is done in moulds of red clay, a
mixture of wax and resin covering the mould with a coating of red
clay superimposed on it. This whole process is supported by stops,
which may not be necessary in case of smaller articles. The product
is then roughly polished on a lathe. Power driven lathes are
harnessed for shaping and finishing the vessels at the Common Faculty
Centre, Hyderabad. The design is first drawn freehand and later
engraved with a sharp chisel in varying depths. Silver wire or
pieces of the sheets are then embedded on the chased patterns by
hammering. The highly intricate designs are however introduced at the
time of the crafting itself. An explosive combination of chemicals
varying from common salt, saltpeter, copper sulphate and salammonac
when applied to the surface of the vessel transforms the colour of
the metal to jet black. The final polishing with sandpaper, charcoal
and coconut sets the shimmering silver in sharp relief to its satiny
black background.
Bidri work boats of
versatility, design originally and fine craftsmanship. Gold inlay
work is now rare but was at one time as popular as silver. At
present, only silver is used to make the craft more vibrant. Slight
variations in Bidri craftsmanship are the Taikashi or the
brass metalwire inlay work, the Taihnishan and the Zamisshan
in which the design is deeply cut and the Zar Buland which
rather resembles the encrusted ware of Tanjore, where white designs
are cut on the red and yellow ground of copper or brass vessels.
Still another type of ornamentation is the Aftabi and
Mumabatkari in which the patterns are wrought at slightly
raised levels over the surface of the vessel, so as to look overlaid.
Often, more than one style is used on the same article though a
combination of Taikashi and Taihnishan is more common.
Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh
was once the stronghold of Taikashi decorations, where it was
commonly engraved on wooden footwear. Nowadays, Taikashi work is more
appreciated as part of furniture ornamentation specially in places
like Jaipur and Delhi. At Trivandrum in Kerala, attractive panels
depict whole scenes in this style.
As bidriware catapulted
into prominence as a prime contender in the national arena, the craft
spread to the neighbouring states of Purnia in Bihar, Lucknow in U.P.
and Murshidabad in Bengal where industries sprang up overnight to
churn out bidri products trying to keep pace with the shooting market
demands. At all these places the craft is in the hands of Muslim
artisans noted for their high prowess and skill. The designs are
mostly conventional ranging from creepers, flowers and sometimes
human figures, requiring a high degree of skill and artistic talent.
In the crowded
marketplace of Murshidabad one can see stalls saging with elegant
flower vases, tumblers, plates, trays, cups, saucers in vivid bidri
designs typical of the polished ware of Bidar. It is an amusing
sight to watch the enthusiastic shopowners vying with each other in
extolling the virtues of their wares to the confused costumers. A
modification of bidriwork is to be seen in Lucknow’s Zar Buland,
where the ornamental designs are raised above the surface and chased.
Sometimes, gilt silver is used to cover the patterns. Large, delicate
designs in silver in the form of flowers, leaves and even fish are
encrusted all over the base metal.
The fish emblem can be
traced back to the kings of Oudh who delighted in parading their
‘dignity of fish’, Mahi Muratib, in the vanguard of
all state processions. This consisted of the privilege of carrying
an emblem of fish made of metal and borne upon a pole with two
circular gilt bells attached to it. This mark of distinction was
formerly bestowed only on nobles of the highest order and the last
occasion on which an Emperor of Delhi exercised this privilege was
when Shah Alam bestowed the dignity on the English official Lord
Lake. The firsh motto later became a noble design in art and
architecture and bidri manufacturers adopted it as a natural
culmination of bidri craft.
If you have visited
Bellori, a village four miles from the civil station of Purnia, you
will find the local craftsmen, the Kansaris, busily engaged
in moulding and turning bidri vessels. The remaining work of
engraving and polishing is undertaken by the skilled Sonar. Here, a
popular variant of bidri is the gharki, in which the patterns
are plain and inferior both in beauty and adroitness. While the Bidar
craftsmanship shows a preponderance of floral decorations in a more
or less naturalistic style, the design of the Purnia region is
strictly conventional and has a vibrant Chinese character. In fact,
local customs are so deeply entrenched in the minds of people that
bidri art has never really been allowed to die. To cite an instance,
at the time of the marriage of a girl, it is a custom in Hyderabad
to present a complete set of bidri utensils to the bridegroom,
ranging from bedlegs to a spittoon. No dowry is considered complete
without it. This necessitates the father of the girl to begin his
collection years before his daughter’s marriage considering the
prevailing high prices of bidri articles.
Traditionally, the nobles
used huq-qas or the hubble-bubble of various sizes and
multifarious shapes and designs varying from that of a ball, bell,
cone, coconut or fruits like mangoes. The aftaba or the water
jugs, and the sailabchi or the wash basins were at one time very
popular both in the zenana and the gentlemen’s living-room.
Womenfolk from noble families particularly favoured the ugaldan
(spittoon) surahi, cosmetic boxes, dibyas, gulab-posh,
pandaans, and elaichi-daans for offering paan and
supari, in quaint rectangular, oval, round, square, fish or leaf
shapes. In households, weights known as the mir-e-farsh were
used to keep the bed-sheets unruffled. These were often in enchanting
aftabi workmanship with exotic lotus designs on them.
It is believed that the
earliest craftsman turning out bidriware probably migrate from Iran
and were patronized by the Deccan rulers from the 15th
century onwards. The bidri technique was usually handed down from
generation to generation, and in the course of time local Muslims and
Hindus of he Lingayat sect took to the trade. Thereafter, hindus
forms like the ‘Swastika’ and the ‘lotus’ stole
their way into the designs. Highly conventionalized patterns such as
the Asharfi-ki-booti, stars, vine creepers and stylized poppy plants
with flowers, the Persian Rose and bowls with passages from the Quran
in Arabic script were in vogue. The most striking is the Phooljadi, a
pattern in small diagonal squares filled in by small flowers
resembling the sprinkling of a sparkler.
The Salarjung Museum in
Hyderabad has in its collection a beautiful farshi huqqa designed in
the Zar Buland technique with numerous lion’s heads. Circular
flowers with five petals in between decorative creepers are a
mixture of Persian and European influence. Some of the other antique
pieces are on display at the National Museum New Delhi, Hyderabad
Museum and the Prince of Wales Museum at Bombay. Others are being
preserved under the auspices of some well known families of
Hyderabad.
With the passage of time
and the advent of a new age bidri articles changed their shapes and
decorative motifs. Cigar boxes, cigarette cases, ash trays, cuff
links, match box covers, fruit bowls and other necessities of daily
use began to find favour with the purchaser. A careful combination of
old Persian motifs together with designs adopted from the Bidar. For,
Ajanta frescoes and Persian florals typify modern day bidriware. Folk
type motifs have also found their way into it.
To cater to the needs of
the foreign market, simplified designs such as clubs, hearts,
spades, simple floral designs and geometric patterns have been
adopted.
As a further impetus to
this flourishing industry as a major foreign exchange earner and an
upcoming Cottage Industry product, the government has offered a
helping hand by opening co-operative workshops in the heart of the
city of Hyderabad. The Andhra Pradesh government is also undertaking
direct measures for its protection, perpetuation and further
enhancement.
Bidri is yet another proof of the sea
like character of Indian art and craft to absorb and assimilate the
latest in craftsmanship in keeping pace with the developments in this
extraordinary field.
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