PESHAWAR, June 20: Copper engraving, an ancient art of decorating copper and brass utensils, is fast disappearing because of changes in people's lifestyle.

The centuries-old Bazaar-e-Misgran (coppersmith's bazaar) in the historic Qissa Khwani Bazaar no more looks like a market of copperware and brassware. The number of merchants offering utensils made up of these metals is fast dwindling as falling sales is forcing most of the craftsmen to switch over to other businesses.

"Our family is engaged in copper engraving profession for the last four generations but my children are reluctant to carry on with this art due to economic hardships," said Khwaja Safar Ali Safar, an engraver.

Safar Ali, younger brother of Khwaja Akhtar Ali, winner of civil awards in 1980 and 1986 for his unique copper engravings, said people have started avoiding the use of copper pans because of their expensiveness.

Earlier, people traditionally gave away copper crockery as part of their daughters' dowry, but now the people's preferences have changed, adding that guest rooms used to be decorated with uniquely engraved copper or brass bowls, shields, bottles, kettles and jugs.

He said that another reason for the change in people's choice was its being considered outdated and old-fashioned. He also said that copperware was hard to maintain as it needed polishing every six to eight months.

Copper engraving or chitarkari in Hindko is believed to have originated in Iran. Khwaja Safar said before the partition of the sub-continent, craftsmen used to come to Peshawar from Iran via Afghanistan.

He also blamed the situation after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US for the slump in the copperware engraving business. He said that earlier, foreigners especially visited the Qissa Khwani Bazar for buying copper and golden brass decoration pieces.

After the 9/11 incident, the number of foreigners visiting the bazaar had been greatly reduced. He suggested that the government could patronize the craftsmen by arranging visits of foreign delegations to the coppersmiths' market, adding that their wares could be introduced in foreign markets through Pakistani missions abroad.

Jehangir, associated with polishing coppeware for the past 40 years, said that the copperware business had shrunken by up to 75 per cent in the past 20 years. He reminded that there were over 10 polishing shops in the Qissa Khwani Bazaar alone but, he said, now his shop was the only one there.

Mehmood Khan an official of the NWFP's department of culture, while admitting that the art of copper engraving was diminishing, said that the department encouraged artisans by arranging their visits to Lok Virsa and other cultural shows held annually in Islamabad and Lahore.

The Culture Department, he said, also paid stipend ranging between Rs1,000 and Rs1,500 to some artisans. He said that the Export Promotion Bureau and the Ministry of Culture could take measures for projecting copperware abroad. -APP