Eight artisans from the Kala Karimnagar Silver Filigree Handicrafts Society, Secunderabad — Syed Sardar, A. Lavanya, K. Sathish, A. Arun, S. Chiranjeevi, S. Anusha, P. Kiran and K. Ashwini — have made it to the Wonder Book of International Records for their filigree work on a Ganesha idol. Weighing 10 kgs and with a height and breadth of 22x21 inches, the idol was designed over a period of 545 days using 250 gms of silver. For the uninitiated, filigree is an ornamental work where fine strands of gold or silver are used to design an art work.
The filigree Ganesha idol.
The President of the Society, Syed Sardar, shares, “Not many know about this craft and that’s why we put in so much of work to gain some recognition. The biggest challenge this art faces is selling our products. When we sell through emporiums, they hike the prices by 30-40 per cent. At times, mediators even charge 60 to 70 per cent of the price. It hits our livelihood. Instead, people can directly make purchases from us at the manufacturing rate on our website kalasilverfiligree.com.” He adds, “This record will definitely boost our work. The result of our hard work has finally borne fruit.”
