Sarthebari- Home of Brass & Bell Metal Industry

Sarthebari, a place located in Barpeta District,

Assam is origin home to the bell metal industry and it is the second largest handicraft of Assam. The bell metal is an alloy of copper and tin made from it are used for different purposes. The bell metal as a craft was started long time ago, but the method and systems of preparing bell metal items are also so old. The craftsmen who are also referred to as the Kahar or Orja still resort to the age old tools required for burning and shaping the metal.

About 40 percent of the people in this village are engaged in this cottage industry and the hammering of the metal at the furnace can be heard throughout the village. The principal items of brass are the kalah (water pot), sarai (a platter or tray mounted on a base), kahi (dish), bati (bowl), lota (water pot with a long neck) and tal (cymbals).

Bell metal items have utilitarian and aesthetic value in Assam; they are de rigueur in marriages and religious functions while eating on bell metal plates is considered healthy. Items commonly made are cymbals, bhogjhora, dugdugi, pikdani, bankahi, banbati, Buddhist taal used for incantations, and dofola bati used by some tribal communities for marriage ceremony.

The bell metal industry has been facing myriad problems for two decades now. Kohiram Das, a master craftsman, foresaw this in 1933 and formed the Assam Cooperative Bell Metal Utensils Manufacturing Society Limited to safeguard the interests of the workers.

Brass and bell metal products demand both physical strength and artistic skill. Each worker specializes in a particular piece of work and makes only one part of a product. Workers feel that these items, adorned with intricate designs, cannot be made by machines, thus limiting the scope for mechanization.

Reference:

http://www.nezine.com/info/Assam%E2%80%99s%20brass%20and%20bell%20metal%20industries%20not%20in%20sound%20health

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