Hammers fall silent: Why Odisha's bell metal craft is melting away

Though the craft is ingrained in Odisha's traditions, the artisans struggle with low wages, lack of policy support, and the vice-like grip of middlemen

Once alive with the hammering and polishing of kansa (bell metal, an alloy of copper and tin) and brass products, the streets of Rampela, Odisha, have fallen silent over the past decade. 

 

A visit to one of the clusters, Rampela in western Odisha, reflects the sharp decline in the Kansari (bell metal and brass artisan) community. The number of artisans has shrunk from 200 to a mere 20 in a decade. Today, only a few pockets remain where the shala, or workshop, still ignites its furnace at 3 am.

 

The story is the same for every cluster across the state.