Brahmaputra Fables and Coral

Dear Reader,    

In almost every household in India, there is at least one item made of brass, bronze, copper or bell metal, which is used for decoration or religious purposes. India has a rich history of metal crafts , which started with the famous ‘Dancing Girl’ bronze sculpture made between 2300–1750 BC in Mohenjo-Daro city of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Today, craft clusters across India specialise in metal crafting techniques to make utensils, home décor and utility items. Assam’s Sarthebari village is one of them, where bell metal (an alloy of copper and tin) craft has been practised since the 7th century, writes my colleague Urvashi.

The bell metal artisans, however, had been cut off from the market due to limited education and exploitation by middlemen. Dhruba Jyoti Deka, fresh out of college, saw the dying craft and trained the artisans in new designs and connected them with the market through his startup Brahmaputra Fables. Over 30 artisans, working with Dhruba, now earn three times more than before and the younger generation is joining the craft once again.

He has also tied up with 3,000 artisans and weavers from the North East to sell their handmade items under The Bellsmith Co brand. We need more educated youth like Dhruba who can go back to their roots and uplift the languishing crafts while giving dignity to artisans.

Last week, my colleague Aruna wrote a very interesting piece on coral adoption. Yes! You can adopt or gift a coral and help in marine biodiversity conservation. Goa-based Coastal Impact, founded by banker-turned-diver Venkatesh Charloo, is promoting the adoption of corals for their conservation.

Corals are small marine animals, which secrete calcium carbonate that forms reefs. These reefs provide habitat and food for nearly 25% of all marine life and are crucial for the ecosystem.

The money collected by Coastal Impact through adoption is used for the coral’s transplantation and care. So far, 113 corals have been adopted and they’ve grown six times at the NGO’s nursery since 2021. So if you want to gift a coral to someone, do look up the piece!

Continuing our documentation of farming success stories, we wrote about a flower farmer from Punjab last week. Gurwinder Singh Sohi failed in every business he touched before floriculture worked for him. After repeated failures, his reluctant father allowed him to pursue flower farming only over 0.25 acres out of the family’s 25-acre farm.

The success softened Gurwinder’s father and today, he has converted the ancestral farm of paddy and wheat farm into a flower farm, selling cut and loose flowers as well as seeds to nurseries across the world. His annual income is over Rs 40 lakh, which is many times more than what his father earned. Do look up his story.

Our Sunday piece is on India’s handloom weaving techniques, almost all of which go back many centuries. My colleague Mona has detailed 10 handloom weaving traditions from different states of India. These weaves have survived despite stiff competition from power looms and are known the world over for their uniqueness.

And in the Money section, Karan has listed five defensive stocks that can protect your portfolio in the current volatile market.

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi