Design Resource
Silver Shoe Making - Varanasi
Traditional Footwear Made of Silver
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral and Manasa K. H.
Introduction
The invention of metal changed the human’s life. Prehistoric men used metals to make tools and weapons; later on developments in agriculture, welfare, transport and even cookery are difficult without metal. Metal plays a very important role in human’s life. Metals can be shaped into the required shape without breaking or cracking. Metal is a mineral body, by nature either liquid or solid state; melted by the heat of the fire but when it is cooled down again it becomes hard. The origin of the metal art started at the time of Indus Valley Civilization, a beautiful figurine of a ‘Dancing girl’, made of bronze dating around 2500 B.C., and it is of 10.5 centimeters (4.1 inches) in height, which shows that Indus Valley people liked to dance. Traditionally there are six different kinds of metals, namely gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and lead.
Silver is a soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it possesses the highest electrical conductivity of all metals even higher than copper. The atomic symbol of silver is Ag. Silver often plays a second contrivance to another precious metal, gold. The first evidence of silver mining dates back to 3000 B.C., in Turkey and Greece. Silver has numerous applications beyond coinage, jewelry and ornaments, god and goddess idols, high-value tableware and utensils and also as an investment in the form of coins and bullions (silver bars). Silver played a great role in making early photography possible. Even though the rise of digital cameras, silver remains part of the traditional photographic process.
Mr.Bharatlal Kathera is residing at a small place called Neechi Bagh, which is located at Varanasi; he is been trained from his ancestors who had started this business many years ago. His elder brother was the most senior and the most experienced craftsman in this field who not only gained a good knowledge but also extended the business to a level of competition. After his brother’s death, Mr.Baratlal took over the position and at the same time, he trained his younger son (Gangaram) and relative (Sanjeev Kumar) for the same. These group of artisans is very passionate about their work who owe themselves to this beautiful unique art. Not only silver, but artisans also work with very treasurable metal gold. Their main concentration is only on silver embossing. A silver shoe is also known as Paduka, the traditional footwear made of silver especially for marriages. Artisan took three to four days to finish a set of a silver shoe.
