Surjeet Singh has been making swords and kirpans for the last 50 years. He is the main karigar at the Simran Industries in Ajit Nagar, Amritsar. He is the first in his family to learn this craft. He learnt it at the Ajit Singh Karkhana. The kirpan is a curved, single-edged blade that Khalsa Sikhs...
These are some of the organisations we have been funding regularly:
SPAN FOUNDATION was founded by my father Mr. B.S. Dhiman and his long term friend and associate, whom we fondly called uncle, Mr. Jawahar Kaul. The foundation was essentially funded by Span Consultants Pvt. Ltd., of which my father was the managing director. Since its inception, the Foundation supported education and medical aid by donating...
Chaur Sahib is an implement normally found next to the Manji Sahib where the Guru Granth is placed. The chaur is used to fan the Granth as a sign of reverence and respect for the scriptures. The chaur is usually constructed from yak hair mounted in a wooden or metal handle. The sevadar (volunteer) respectfully...
Print work of Kashmir is a unique form of traditional printing that combines wooden blocks and hand pressed paper still practiced in Kashmir. These are later used by design printers, commonly known as Naqashs for printing Shawls and other clothing items.Intricate designs are created through vibrant colours, known as naksha by naksha walas. Nakshai work...
Manzoor Ahmad is a 34-year-old pebble artist from the village of Guzarbal, Ganderbal district. Being a nature lover, Manzoor uses natural materials for his art. He draws inspiration from the natural world around him and often creates images that are inspired by what he sees. He first began with creating artworks of pencil waste and...
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning frame, which displaced the spinning wheel during the Industrial Revolution. The basic spinning of yarn...
Ghulam Nabi Kenzu, of Baba Mohalla, Dal Lake,smokes a hookah, taking a break from his busy schedule of making shikaras to cater to the rising tourist foot fall in Srinagar. The shikara has become a cultural symbol of Kashmir. Like the Venetian gondolas, it is a wooden boat found on Dal Lake and other water...
Polishing is a necessary stage in many manufacturing processes. Architectural metal, cookware, kitchenware, metal automobile parts, etc are some of the products that are polished before they reach the market. In other cases, metals can be polished as part of general repairs or restoration. Metal polishing is a finishing method that uses an abrasive material...
Art apart, the metal, particularly brass, has remained the most important utility object in India since time immemorial. The use of brass was, thus, apparently considerable. According to J.L. Kipling, Principal, Mayo School of Art, Lahore; 65,468 maunds of brass was imported into Punjab in 1882-83. Rewari, Jagadhri, Amritsar, Jandiala, Phagwara, Gujranwala, Pindi Dadan Khan...
