HYDERABAD: Devoting lengthy hours, in the narrow bylanes of Charminar and Laad bazaar, traditional warq makers sit on the floor, pounding small pieces of silver into bright, flimsy, square sheets. But unfortunately, time is weeding out the legacy of this extraordinary trade.
Owing to decreasing number of orders, the traditional art of making this edible silver leaves that was once used on everything delicious, from the famous biryani to the gulkand-laden paan and innumerable sweets, is on its last leg.
Deep in thought, 60-yearold, Mirza Omer Baig, born and brought up in Hyderabad, sits in his shop adjacent to the bus stop near Charminar. "I am in this business for over 40 years and it would not be wrong to say that it will soon become a thing of the past," Baig said.
While he explains that there is a fall in the number of orders from sweet shops and restaurants, he also recalls how people used to approach him to place orders for weddings on a regular basis.
"Earlier, I would receive at least 12 to 15 orders in a month in the wedding season, but now I hardly get one or two orders," he said. These silver and gold leaf sheets usually come in packs of hundred, with silver costing Rs 150 a pack and a single sheet of gold costing Rs 40. Each foil is sandwiched between two sheets of paper.
ADVERTISEMENT
There were around 70 small units in the city a few decades ago. But owing to the veg and non-veg issues, German plastic and machines, which can easily make large quantities of silver foil, have been introduced and the product is much cheaper. "From 70 shops in the city that make traditional warq, there are just 4-5 left," said Mohammad Zafer, a warq shop owner in Charminar.
Over the last few years, trade has dwindled following 'rumours' of use of cow hide while transforming the silver particles into foils. "Almost all warq sops use German plastic which can withstand long hours of hammering and the rumours are not true," says Zafer.
