Page 4 - Jul-Sep 2013
P. 4

Metal craft, an everyday art



      Metal is used for making beautiful objects.   METALS IN THE
      But, it is also used for making utility objects                        METAL FOR SAFETY
      which are used in our houses. The housewife    KITCHEN                                    Locks have been in
      in her kitchen uses metal pots like  paraat,                                              use in India since
      pateelas, karahis, and other utensils. Metal   Guess the kitchen items                    time immemorial.
      objects are necessary for religious rituals at   made from metal….
                                                                                                Giant locks were
      homes too.
                                                                             used for protecting the gates of palaces
      Samridhi Sharma, X, D.A.V. International School,                       and forts. Even today, locks are essential
      Amritsar
                                                                             for the safety of the household. Locks are
      Lovely Lota                                                            made of metal and some are very well
                                                                             crafted.
      The lota is used in almost every Indian
      household. It is a simple vessel of everyday
                                              a)
      use and stands out as perhaps the most
      fascinating one. It is made of either brass or                         Incense Burners
      copper. It is used to store or transfer small
                                                                             Burning incense is an old tradition in India.
      amounts of liquids like water for cleaning
                                                                             It is believed that burning of incense keeps
      and purifi cation.
                                                                             insects away and wards off  evil spirits.
      Novel Nutcracker                                                       Incense burners are usually made in metal
                                                                             and they are either suspended in chains or
      Boxes were made of diff erent materials to                             placed on the ground.
      store betel leaf in India. Nutcrackers are
      made of metal for cutting the supari or areca,                         Stylish Samovar
      an important ingredient for making  paan.
      These nutcrackers were made of iron or                                 The Samovar is a heated metal contained
      brass and were of diff erent shapes and sizes.                         used for boiling water. It is traditionally
                                                                             used in Kashmir for making tea. Inside a
                                              b)
              KHASI KNIVES                                                   samovar there is a fi re container in which
                                                                             charcoal and live coal is kept. Around it
      Khasi traditional domestic knife is used                               there is a space for water to boil.
      by every household in Meghalaya.
      These knifes are used for cutting and
                                                                              Background Illustration by Arushi Kapoor, IX, Delhi
      chopping and also for peeling of betel-                                      Public School, Maruti Kunj, Gurgaon
      nut commonly known as Kwai.
                                              c)
      R. Maya-i-ka Marbaniang, VIII, B.K. Bajoria School,
      Shillong
                                                                                  Did you know?
                                                                                Hamam Dasta, the traditional
      SCINTILLATING SIT-CUTTING                                                name of the common pestle and
                                                                                mortar, is a very useful metal
      The art of sit-cutting is unique. It is used                              object and in used in Bengali
      in almost all Bengali households and is                                   households. It is traditionally
      known as boti. It is known as aruvamanai                                      used to grind spices.
      in Tamil,  vili or  morli in Marathi,  daat
      in Punjabi, and  hansua in Bihar and                                      Anusha Basu, VIII, Navy Children
                                                                                       School, New Delhi
      Jharkhand.
                                              d)




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