The dignified world of Meenakari

‘Meenakari’, also known as enamelling is a unique and traditional art in India. It is the art of ornamenting metal surface with attractive colours and Kundan stones. ‘Meena’ refers to the blue (azur) colour of heaven. The artists who make Meenakari are known as Meenakars. They belong to the Kshatriya clan and identify themselves by the name of Meenakar or Verma.

Indian Arrival:
Meenakari art was brought to India by Raja Man Singh in the 16th Century from Lahore to Jaipur. Since then, Jaipur is the main centre for authentic Meenakari production.

Mughals in the 17th Century also played an instrumental role in bringing the art to India. Meenakari flourished in the patronage of Mughals. Some Persian craftsmen happened to visit the court of Awadh at Lucknow who taught the art to local artisans. The Persian style of Meenakari was slightly different from that of Jaipur. Today it is known as Meenakari from Varanasi which is mainly characterized by lotus motifs.


Its making:
An astounding fact of making Meenakari is that the process has remained the same since the time it was introduced to the country. It requires the same amount of craftsmen, skill and goes through stages identical to that from 500 years ago.

The design is carved out by ‘gharias’ who make dents on the Chitra metal.

• After designing, the enameller applies different colours to the engraved design with fine brushes specially made for the purpose.
• Its base is first covered with white/pink enamel. After which different colours are applied depending upon how firm it is.
• A total of 5 enamel applications are made.
• The article is heated to enhance the richness of colours.
• After heating process, the article is finally polished and cleaned. Hand burnishes are used to cover the exposed metal.

Types of Meenakari:

Ek Rang Khula Meena: In this form, only the gold outlines are exposed and a single colour dominates the whole engraved area.
Panch Rangi Meena: In this form, five colours, namely, green, light blue, dark blue, white and red, are used.
Gulabi Meena: Pink is the dominant colour in this form of the art. It is famous in Varanasi.


Motifs:

The most popular Meenakari motifs include Phool-patti (flowers and foliage), peacocks, parrots and elephants. In Varanasi, lotus blooms and buds are made.

In Jaipur, the traditional style of making Meenakari is maintained where vibrant colours like red, green and white are used for enamelling. The rich, ruby red colour is highly sought after. Whereas in Varanasi, Meenakari is characterized by pink brush strokes on the predominant white enamel. It is called as Banaras Gulabi Meenakari.

The unique Meenakari art looks best on a gold base. It adds an attractive lustre to the enamel. Earlier, it was only done on gold, but now other metals like silver, copper and bronze are also used. Gold is mostly used for jewellery, silver for royal crockery and copper is used for sculptures and idols.

Products:

Meenakari is not just limited to traditional jewelry but can also be seen etched on modern products like bowls, ashtrays, key chains, jewellery boxes, crockery, figures of deities and decorative showpieces.

During the Mughal period, graceful Meenakari designs were seen on hookahs and paan-daans. Silver Meenakari dancing peacock and silver Meenakari elephant and riders are the most famous Meenakari idols. The price of this craft starts from INR 150 to 35,000 and weighs up to 500 grams, which depends on the design.

Meenakari art is highly popular but is difficult to be possessed by all people due to high prices. Traditional Meenakari work is in high demand and the jewellery is worn by brides at weddings. Nowadays, artists are successfully experimenting with modern, simpler designs of Meenakari that reduces its cost. The Vilayati Meena, an enamel sourced from Europe, enables the artisans to achieve this goal. It is substantially cheaper than the desi Meena and hence allows a wide section of society to own Meenakari articles and jewellery.