Wootz steel from South India: film by Prof Sharada

Fading songs of the anvil The blacksmiths and wootz steel makers of southern India and Golconda (nearly 50 min)
Southern India was famed for the making of a high-grade high carbon steel by crucible processes described by European travellers as ‘wootz’, or ‘ukku’, Tavernier describes the trade in wootz ingots from Golconda to Persia to make ‘Damascus’ blades . Kammari blacksmiths from the Godavari region in northern Telangana have fading recollections of making ukku, often living close to old slag and crucible debris sites. Some regard themselves as part of the five-fold artisanal clan of the Vishwakarma, while they also sang verses in praise the Goddess Mammayee.
The Kota and Kollan blacksmiths of the verdant Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu sometimes have their forges set amidst Iron Age megaliths and cairns: further pointing to ageold and intriguing links between archaeometallurgical and archaeological landscapes and material culture.

Film Script, Narration and Direction, Prof Sharada Srinivasan, made under Metalworking Traditions of the Kammalar and Vishwakarma project.

Project Director, Prof Molly Kaushal, Janapada Sampada Division, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi




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