Introduction

Design Resource

Dhokra Metal Casting, Adilabad - Telangana

An Ancient Bell Metal Craft

Introduction

Adilabad is one of the main cities of Telangana state. It has an elevation of 264 metres. The district is surrounded by Nizamabad and Karimnagar districts of Telangana towards the south and Nanded, Yavatmal, Chandrapur and Godchiroli districts of Maharastra towards the west, east and north respectively. The district is well connected to rest of India by road transport as National Highway 7 passes through this region.

The origin of this region dates back to the reign of Asaf Jahi dynasty. It was the northern district of Nizam state founded by Nizam-ul-Mulk in the Deccan region. However Adilabad was ruled by many dynasties like Mauryans, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Qutub Shahis and Asaf Jahis. Thus the name Adilabad was derived from its erstwhile Islamic ruler of Bijapur, Yusuf Adil Shah. But the original name of this region was Edlabad during the rule of Qutub Shahis later it was changed to Adilabad. Hence Urdu was the official language of Adilabad and since 1956, as this region became a part of Telugu linguistic state, the language Telugu gained prominence and became the official language of Adilabad till today!

However the current culture of the district witnesses the multicultural society, where Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Malayali, Rajasthani and Gujarati people are living in harmony. Adilabad has a population of 1,17,167 according to the census held during 2011, in which males constitute 59,448, females constitute 57,719 and the population under the age group of 0-6years constitutes 12,993. This place is well known for its historical temples, shimmering waterfalls and magnificent monuments. The other attractions of this place are Kuntala waterfall, Shivaram wildlife sanctuary, Kawal wildlife sanctuary, Pochera falls and Kerameri ghat roads. Adilabad is also recognized as the hub of cotton mills and it is also famed for dhokra metal casting practiced by Ojha metalsmiths of this region.

Dhokra is an ancient bell metal craft practiced in various places of the country. It is well known craft of Chattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Telangana. The workmanship and the skill of artisan community vary in different states. Dhokra is a tedious job made using the procedure of lost wax technique while casting the metal. This craft combines wax technique with the metallurgical skill to create artifacts of distinctive beauty. Dhokra is a very labour intensive as it consumes minimum of 4-5 days to make a simple piece of work whereas the complicated designs could take up to 2-3 weeks’ time. These dhokra metal artifacts are usually made traditional but on demand the contemporary designs are also made. Characteristics of these dhokra metal objects comprise slender and elongated figurines, folk lamps, household articles like measuring bowls and lamps. The uniqueness of these artifacts is that the object is entirely handcrafted with the final product that has a different texture depending on the wax strips and these relics do not have any joints.

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Dhokra Metal Casting, Adilabad - Telangana