“For the past 50 years, my family has been dedicated to the art of making polished copper utensils. We are popularly called Kalaiwalas. This isn’t just any craft—it takes skill, patience, and the hard work of five people on each piece, working at high temperatures. The copper Biryani pots, used by restaurants to make the delicious Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, will be made by us only.

But times have changed. People now prefer cheaper options like steel and aluminum, and this shift has hit us hard financially. Unfortunately, we’ve had to make the tough decision to close down our business. On the bright side, I’ve ensured that my children are well-educated, and they’ll be starting new businesses that are more in tune with today’s world. Inshallah, they will succeed.

Our story is similar to the fading tradition of Kalai. Our profession, as we apply coatings to copper and brass utensils under the scorching sun, is a figure slowly disappearing from the landscape. The costs of raw materials like tin, often sourced from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, have risen, making it even harder. Even though there’s a demand for brass, copper, and kansa (a type of bronze), the younger generation isn’t drawn to these old crafts, and these skills are slowly disappearing.”

• Mohammad S, Kalaiwala (Tin-coater)