Tradition · hand-beaten metal craft · India
Thatheras of Jandiala Guru
Also known as Jandiala Guru, Thathera, Punjab brass and copper
A single street of craftsmen in Amritsar district who beat brass, copper and kansa into vessels by hand from cooled cast ingots, tempering and polishing with tamarind and sand — the first Indian craft inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, in 2014.
Craft & industry
- Function
- Trade & production
- Confidence
- Not assessed
- Location
- 31.562, 75.027
Worth knowing
Kansa, the high-tin bronze they work, was the standard Punjabi eating metal until stainless steel arrived in the 1960s, and the trade nearly died with it. The listing came when fewer than a hundred families were still working; the revival since has been driven as much by claims about the alloy's health properties as by heritage funding.
On these journeys
Sources
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list
Open Thatheras of Jandiala Guru in the repository →