The Tambats of Tambat Ali: Converting a Lifeless Material into Healthy Storage Copper Utensils
In the heart of the city of Pune, Western India, lies Kasba Peth (a “Peth” being a residential-cum-commercial ward), the oldest part of the city, established around 1,300 CE.1 Kasba Peth is a densely packed area with narrow streets, blocks of houses, and temples. Nestled deep in this Peth is Tambat Ali, an alley of coppersmiths in the local Marathi language, where at present around forty coppersmiths (known as tambats) beat malleable sheets of copper (tamba) into a variety of traditional and contemporary products.