Faisal is perhaps the last of this generation who inherited this craft from his grandfather Mohammad Sharfuddin, now 82. His uncle Irfan is managing shop No. 1132 at Matiya Mahal Bazar called Qalai Ghar. It is a nondescript shop in a row of attractive ones, except that it draws attention with its shining vessels – from a small bowl to a degh with 80 kg capacity.

The shop has three naand or pits full of water, as big as the bottom of an 80 kg degh , in which it is immersed slowly, soon after the hot tin foil is rubbed on it. After the wash the shine is exemplary.

Says the 52-year-old Irfan: “This shop is 150 years old but we have been in the business of qalai for about 80 years. We learnt it from our father. For now we have quite a lot of work, especially because in Old Delhi, people still keep brass and copper utensils in their homes and also gift them at weddings. Moreover, Karim Hotel gives us its qalai work every two months – we polish their 70 to 80 big and small utensils and this work remains our main source of income.”

Mohammad Irfan charges as little as Rs.20 for a small bowl measuring three inches in diameter to Rs.800 for an 80 kg degh .

Earlier, Delhi’s Bhogal and Sundar Nagar used to be the hubs for qalaiwalas; some of them can still be located in small corners. Muslim Punjabis or sadagars from Pakistan are the main users of copper and brass utensils and most of them live in Old Delhi.

The Walled City used to have as many as 10-15 qalai shops earlier. Three of the big ones were located at Turkman Gate. One of these closed during the Emergency, another one some 25 years ago, and the third one vanished without a trace, say the area residents.

Qalai Ghar too may close down in a few years from now. Sharing the reason, Irfan says: “I have not taught this skill to my three sons. They sell ready-made garments. This business may not grow in future.” He had also stopped getting ‘boys’ as trainees nearly “40 years ago”. Then inflation has also affected the skill adversely. “Earlier wood coal used to cost me Rs.3 per kg, now it is Rs.35. Earlier, a tin foil used to cost Rs.7, now it comes for Rs.1,800. Moreover, the work needs high energy levels, as we are constantly exposed to heat, fumes and our hands do not stop working for almost eight to 10 hours every day.”

There has been no technology invented to keep this skill alive either. Technology, says Irfan, is a far cry because utensil sizes vary. “How many machines can be invented to polish the vessels of all sizes and thickness,” he asks.

Though now almost all five star hotels, especially in the Capital, have again started using copper and brass utensils for health reasons and for showing a ‘connect’ with the Indian roots, yet that hasn’t got people like Irfan going.

Notably, the food cooked in an unpolished brass or copper utensil becomes poisonous, and so is the water kept in one. But some families with diabetic patients still use copper vessels for health benefits. But this is not enough to sustain the waning skill either.

The Walled City however, still has a few qalai walas . A couple of them are pheriwalas who go from door to door; a few have fixed shops at Uncha Charagh, Tazana House and Kala Mahal; while one sits on the footpath at Chandni Mahal.

Veteran Sharfuddin warns: “One should not go for pheriwalas as they do ‘duplicate’ work. They use solder rod foil (used for stitching in electronic goods), while the genuine polish can be achieved only through Malaysian tin foil which is expensive. If you rub your finger on fake-polish utensils, they will turn black, while rubbing finger on genuine polish won’t.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Other States / by Rana Siddiqui Zaman / New Delhi – September 09th, 2014