{"id":652,"date":"2025-10-06T20:05:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=652"},"modified":"2025-10-06T20:05:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:05:39","slug":"legacy-of-copper-naqashi-fading-veteran-naqashgeer-fears-end-of-150-year-old-family-craft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2025\/10\/06\/legacy-of-copper-naqashi-fading-veteran-naqashgeer-fears-end-of-150-year-old-family-craft\/","title":{"rendered":"Legacy of copper naqashi fading: Veteran Naqashgeer fears end of 150-year-old family craft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jahangeer Ganaie<\/strong><\/p>\n

Srinagar, Oct 06: For over four decades, the rhythmic tapping of tools on copper sheets has echoed through the modest workshop of Manzoor Ahmed Naqashgeer, a 60-year-old artisan, from Teingpora Nawakadal, Srinagar. He has dedicated 45 years of his life to the centuries-old art of copper naqashi \u2014 an intricate engraving craft that once symbolized Kashmir\u2019s rich cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the news agency\u2014Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Manzoor said, \u201cI inherited this skill from my father, Mohammad Subhan Naqashgeer, when I was only 10 or 12 years old. This art has been in our family for five generations. I learnt it from my father, who learnt it from his uncle. But sadly, I don\u2019t see it continuing beyond me.”<\/p>\n

Manzoor, who has won multiple awards for his craftsmanship, including one from then J&K Governor N. N. Vohra and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in 2012, said he recently received his fourth major award for his lifelong dedication to the craft. \u201cMy work has reached countries across the world, but back home, the art is dying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to him, while simple naqashi on copper utensils is still being practiced, the real and detailed naqashi \u2014 the one that earned Kashmiri artisans international recognition \u2014 is vanishing due to rising costs and dwindling demand. \u201cNow I make pieces only on order. The cost of such pieces has gone up so much that people prefer cheaper, machine-made products,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Manzoor lamented that the government\u2019s revival efforts are not yielding results because the trainers appointed to teach the craft lack expertise. \u201cThe people they have hired for training are not well-versed in this art. They are mostly teaching in village centres, and that too, to females who do it for livelihood without knowing about its background and real things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Expressing concern about the future of his family legacy, he said his children are not willing to take up the profession. \u201cThey have seen me struggling. I haven\u2019t received any significant work in the past year. It\u2019s not enough to sustain a livelihood anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Manzoor added that machine-made copper items have severely dented the market for hand-engraved products. \u201cThis art requires patience and time. Machines can replicate designs in minutes, but they can never capture the soul of a craftsman\u2019s touch,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the irreversible decline, Manzoor said, \u201cThe real masters of this art are no more. The tools I used 20 years ago are lying unused now. A single hand-crafted piece made with them costs thousands, but there are no buyers left.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Manzoor Ahmed Naqashgeer, every engraved motif tells a story of tradition, patience, and fading legacy. But as markets shift toward mass production, he fears that the age-old sound of hammer on copper \u2014 once the heartbeat of Srinagar\u2019s old city \u2014 may soon fall silent. (KNO)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jahangeer Ganaie Srinagar, Oct 06: For over four decades, the rhythmic tapping of tools on copper sheets has echoed through the modest workshop of Manzoor Ahmed Naqashgeer, a 60-year-old artisan, from Teingpora Nawakadal, Srinagar. He has dedicated 45 years of his life to the centuries-old art of copper naqashi \u2014 an intricate engraving craft that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news","category-kt-front"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":654,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions\/654"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}