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Muslim craftsmanship behind kanwars used in Yatra

ByS Raju
Jul 31, 2024 07:02 AM IST

The dingy houses in the narrow lanes of this Muslim locality of Baansmandi have turned into a potential centre of craftsmanship in the past few decades where artisans have been manufacturing traditional kanwar for Hindu devotees for the past many generations.

NAJIBABAD (BIJNOR) Millions of Shiv devotees carry kanwar(a traditional pole with pitchers of Gangajal hanging on both sides ) during the arduous religious trek known as the ‘ Kanwar Yatra’. But few know that most of these kanwars are supplied from the narrow lanes of Baansmandi locality of this town where hundreds of Muslim artisans work hard day and night to give them shape and finishing for their Hindu brethren. However, though they deftly fashion beautiful kanwars as per demand, they hardly earn enough to make ends meet.

Mohd Saif showing baskets knitted for making kanwar. (Vishwas Dwivedi)

Making of Kanwar is not confined to male members, entire families, including women and children, actively participate in it, turning it into a cottage industry.

Mohd Nasir and his brother Mohd Feroz are in kanwar-making business for the past 15 years and Nasir claimed that more than 500 people of the locality are involved in crafting kanwars.

Mohd Rihan Ansari shared that these families had been making kanwars for generations and they had acquired expertise in this work.

Young Islam and Mohd Saif, also opted to carry forward the traditional trade of their families, proudly shared that their families were associated with making of kanwar for three generations and a similar tradition continued in many other families of the locality.

They all claimed that the craftsmen of Baansmandi locality supplied over 2 to 2.5 lakh kanwars every year to cater to the demand during the Yatra.

Another craftsman Dawood Hasan explained that making a kanwar required hard work, skill and precision. So most kanwar-makers developed this skill which was their sole source of earning.

Their skill and poverty can both be seen simultaneously while taking a round through the barely three to four ft narrow lanes of the locality.

Septuagenarian Shakeela lives alone in her single room dwelling after the death of her husband Zulfiqar and only son. The family used to prepare kanwar together but now Shakeela works on a contract basis. “ I knit baskets for Re 1 per basket and this is my sole source of income,” she said, adding that she could knit maximum 75 baskets per day. She works day and night but the hard work fetches merely 2000 to 2200 per month.

Islam explained that a traditional kanwar was made of bamboos and had five main components: tokri (basket), dhakkan (lid), tipaya (tripod), kammach( an arch made of bamboos fixed on both ends of the kanwar) and danda( wooden stick for hand pitchers and to carry the kanwar).

After buying the bamboo generally 24 ft in length which costs 150 per piece) these craftsman convert it in fine thin long pieces used to knit baskets. These baskets are hung from both ends of the kanwar in which kanwarias carry bottles and cans filled with Gangajal.

Rihana, another craftswoman, shared that her entire family worked together to prepare a kanwar. She also has a small house and the ground floor is littered with raw materials and some prepared baskets. “ I have been helping my family in manufacturing kanwar since I got married 20 years ago”, said Rihana.

There are hundreds of such hapless women who work hard with their family members in the hope of getting some additional earning by selling kanwars during the Yatra.

Rihana’s husband Tasleem has gone to Haridwar to sell his kanwars with other fellow craftsmen of his locality. All male members of the family will now stay in Haridwar till the end of Yatra on the day of Shivratri falling on August 2 this year.

These craftsmen have developed a unique business model over time which helps them minimise expenses and increase profit during the Yatra.

They have developed clusters according to expertise of their fellow craftsmen. These groups prepare basket, tipaya, dhakkan, kammach, danda and tokri and then bring them together to be assembled as a complete kanwar.

“ This model of business helps us in many ways. We can carry hundreds of these portable items to Haridwar and Rishikesh in a single truck and assemble them there instead of carrying a complete kanwar,” said the artisans, explaining that Haridwar remains the focal point of the Yatra .

Dawood Hasan said many craftsman preferred to hire a shop in Haridwar to assemble and sell kanwars. Many shopkeepers of Haridwar also sold these kanwar after getting them prepared on contract basis.

Mohd Nasir claimed that if 500 people were involved in selling kanwar in Haridwar,400 were bound to be Muslims and this model of business was going on for decades without any hassle.

While discussing the price of the kanwar, most artisans shared that it depended on the inflow of kanwariyas and the demand. “ Sometimes it fetches 700 or at low demand it can be sold for 50,” said Islam who also runs a shop along with making kanwar with family members. Dawood Hasan, however, explained that the price of a kanwar could range from 100 to 50,000, depending on the type of kanwar the devotee wanted. “Many like their kanwar studded with with precious stones and other expensive decorative items which enhances the cost, “ he said .

Admiring the expertise of these artisans, a local resident Sanjay Kumar said that now kanwars were also being made in Meerut, Baghpat, Saharanpur and Jwalapur( Uttarakhand) but those craftsmen were mostly relatives of Bijnor artisans .

A wholesale trader of bamboos in Baansmandi, Shariq, said that the easy availability of bamboo (main raw material) and expertise of people in knitting baskets helped in developing the manufacturing and trade of kanwar in Bansmandi locality and it turned into an epicentre of kanwar-making over time.

Craftsman , however, expressed their worry over growing use of metal vessels for bringing Gangajal in Kanwar. “ Many young kanwariyas who can carry heavy load of Gangajal prefer carrying it in metal vessels instead of bottles and cans,” said Mohd Rihan Ansari. adding that these vessels were manufactured in Moradabad and other places.

He said this trend was growing because carrying a heavy load sometimes turned into a competition among kanwariyas.

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