Firozabad had riches hidden in its drains and sewers!
Recommended for Preparatory Grades
The city of Firozabad is considered the glass capital of India. The precious metal formerly seeped through the sewers, and it was a place where they mined the city for gold.
Before the 1990s, saris were regularly interwoven with pure silver and gold. Delhi Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq founded Firozabad in 1354 CE. The region became India’s glass manufacturing centre after independence in 1947.
In Firozabad, gold-coated waste from glass bangles was often disposed of in the city’s sewage pipelines. The rubbish was cleaned and mined for metal.
Despite the industry’s demise, certain bracelets still employ gold. Modern-day Firozabad possesses its own unique kind of magnificence. Every lane is a kaleidoscope of pushcarts and trucks stocked with colourful glass bangles of every shade.
These bangles gleam in the morning sun and the bracelets play a prominent role in Indian culture. They represent wealth and good fortune for married ladies and new brides.
Key facts!
- The city of Firozabad is considered the glass capital of India and is particularly well-known for the production of traditional glass bangles.
- However, the city also harbours another treasure, although one that is well-hidden and requires a great deal of effort to acquire.
- Before the 1990s, saris were frequently laced with pure silver and gold.
- Firozabad produces another precious commodity, one that is only produced after the bangles have been manufactured.
- This commodity is gold.
- Polish made of pure gold was commonly used in the past to adorn glass bangles that were manufactured in the city.
- This meant that many other items that were used throughout the process came into contact with the precious metal.
- These included the bottles and containers that were filled with polish, the fabric scraps that were used for buffing, the baskets that held the refined bangles, and even broken pieces of the bracelets themselves.
- This gold-coated garbage from bangle manufacturers and workshops, as well as from the residences of the craftspeople, was frequently disposed of in the city’s sewage pipelines, therefore effectively generating a covert source of potential wealth.
- After being gathered and cleaned, the trash in question was mined in order to obtain the metal.
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Watch a video
Watch the makings of bangles in a glass factory through the eyes of Youtube user “IndiTales”.
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