The Mandai offers many pleasures. The practical shopper manages to save extensively buying goods to satisfy all his domestic needs here, while for a tourist or visitor it is a rare treat of colours, liveliness, arts and crafts. The Mandai itself is a paradox of sorts, a grey stone building built by the British, yet its offerings are multihued and display a range of local talent.
One distinctive and rather picturesque sight that greets the eyes here are stacks of samovars placed outside many shops dealing in copper and brass vessels and other related household goods. The samovar is built in a simple yet ingenious way to keep water hot over a period of time. Water is poured into one part of it and hot coals placed in an inner cylindrical tube. The smouldering coals keep the water hot and a faucet at the bottom facilitates pouring it out.
The samovar is itself a foreign object and its use became widespread first in Russia. When considering the country’s cold climate it is not surprising that tea drinking or the samovar itself, became so popular there. There are many disputes about its origin though, some say that it originated either in Mongolia or Central Asia and then traveled to Russia and others say that it was first built by a Russian gunsmith, Fedor Lisitsyn, in the late 18th century, in Tula, near Moscow. Shortly after that, over 200 factories came up in that city. Gaining popularity in major cities, the samovar became an inseparable part of the Russian way of life, even finding its place in society, art, culture and literature. It has graced the pages of literary classics of Gogol, Pushkin, Chekhov and others. In Russia, guests and family invited to tea, participated in an elaborate ‘tea ceremony’ with the samovar placed usually to the left of the hostess. From Russia the Samovar traveled to Iran. Here again it became a part of the Iranian way of life and the craftsmen and artisans finding their inspiration in their shape, turned the samovar into beautiful pieces of Persian art. Perhaps it came to India through Iran around the same time. It is very popular in Kashmir and every family has a couple at least, made from copper or brass. The famous Kashmiri tea is made in these samovars.
In Maharashtra though, it is used neither to make tea nor is it an object d’ art but an article with a more practical purpose and less ornate look. In fact, it is brought down to the very basics but that doesn’t take away from its beauty, as it stands proudly in its fine coppery glow. The samovars, called Garam paniche bamb, in Marathi, are found in countless shops near the Mandai. They are much bigger then the tea samovars and they are used to heat water for household purposes. Most of us, so used to getting hot water at the flick of a switch, might find it strange to learn that even today these samovars are very much in demand. They are found in many homes in the older parts of the city.
One of the oldest shops selling samovars and other copper and brass vessels, is owned by Mr Mehta, an extremely affable man. Mr. Mehta’s ancestors had originally come from Rajasthan and settled in Pune decades back, when Pune was just a little town. Today he owns seven of these shops and business is booming, as the demand for his vessels is high.
The copper vessels are made locally at Tambat Ali, which is located in the labyrinth of lanes beyond Kasbapeth. Anyone expecting workshops opening out to the streets would be looking for a long time, while teased by the distinct, though soft sound of hammering on metal that floats on the air all around.
The Tambats live in a Wada, which comprises of old buildings with steep staircases, many corridors, tiny rooms and an open courtyard. The Tambats are a genial people, extremely friendly and helpful. In the wada, each family has their own little workshop outside their room. Here they busily hammer all day, fashioning beautiful samovars and other vessels out of copper and brass and finally polishing them till they gleam. These are then sent out to the market to shops like Mr. Mehta’s, on handcarts.
One of the families here is the Nizampurkar family. The name itself though, is a common one among Tambats, as it denotes a person hailing from Nizampur village in Raigad district, rather than a particular family. All the Tambats here, hail from Raigad but have settled in Pune since a long time, though no one is really sure about the exact date. They are skilled craftsmen. Mr. Nizampurkar lives in a two room flat above his workshop. Every corner of the little home shines spotlessly, as does the verandah that runs outside it. He has two grown children. Mandar, his son though skilled in the art of his ancestors, holds a B. Com degree and a job in a bank. After appearing for a bank exam he hopes to become an officer soon. On his day off though, he thinks nothing of squatting on the floor besides his father and knocking a brass pot into shape. After all, he has been doing it since he was a child. Though proud of his achievements and very ambitious, Mandar also takes equal pride in working with his hands. In the little bedroom above, his sister is equally busy with her books. After completing her B.Com, she continued her studies and is now doing her LLB. It has not been an easy road for either brother or sister but they have made it and hope to go much further. Marriage though, is not on the books for Mandar right now, as he is more concerned about achieving success and at the same time, keeping his forefather’s craft alive.
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