Bylanes of Tunjhu

31-Jul-08 is a day I would remember for some time. Had some wonderful experiences yesterday. We made our first prototypes yesterday… YES!!! And boy, they look good. Again as our concept goes, the products developed are a fusion of four art-forms.

I also got a chance to visit Tunjhu, a small village about 50 Kms from Ranchi on NH 33. This village was once known for its ancient technique of making utensils out of brass. Some years back about 80 families worked on this technique. However, sadly now, there is just one family who is involved in this. The rest have gone for an easier route to mint money, by either selling buns and bread or working outside the village. And as a result, the art is dying out.

We got a chance to understand the technique involved in making this. We interacted with the only family who is involved in making products using this process.



The ore is first heated in the furnace till it becomes liquid. It is then pored into Plaster-of-Paris moulds and allowed to cool down. Once the metal cools down in the mould, the metal piece is removed and then is beaten to form different shapes like plate, bowl etc… It takes five persons about a day to make 14 pieces of the product.

The technique fails to gather market when it competes with utensils made on readymade moulds. The utensils made of readymade moulds can be made quickly and with very little effort. Hence the market for this art form is dying down and so is the art form.