Mid-19th century painting of a metalworking shop
| |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| India | |
| Languages | |
| Hindi, Punjabi | |
| Religion | |
| Hinduism, Sikhism |
The Thathera (literally meaning 'the beater',[1] also known as Thathrias[2]) is a Hindu and Sikh artisan caste in India, whose traditional occupation is the making of brass and copper utensils.[citation needed] In 2014, the craft of the Thathera community of Jandiala Guru was included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.[3]
The Thathera communities of Punjab played a prominent role in developing the Sikh School of metal relief artwork.[1][2] Many of the surviving gilded brass and copper panels affixed to the edifices of the Golden TempleorGurdwara Baba Atal Rai were crafted by Thathera craftsmen or guilds in the 19th and early 20th century.[1] The most renowned Thatheras for creating metal panel art were located in Kucha Fakirkhana, Lahore.[1] Only three or four Thathera families in Amritsar have preserved the knowledge on how to execute this form of metalworking art at present.[2]
In Bihar, the Thatheras are classified as a Backward Caste.[4]
Although people of the Thathera community reside across the country, only those from Jandiala Guru in the state of Punjab were included in the UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. [5]
After years of neglect and inaction on the part of the government and the civil society, the UNESCO listing prompted the Deputy CommissionerofAmritsar to collaborate with students of Shri Ram College of Commerce to revive the dying craft form.[6] Soon, Navjot Singh Sidhu, the then Minister of Tourism of Punjab pledged Rs. 10 lakhs to this effort, under the umbrella of Project Virasat.[7][8]
