Architecture of Traditional Ali in Pune, A Case Study of Tambat Ali

Architecture of Traditional Ali in Pune, A Case Study of Tambat Ali

Abstract: Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra, has a
long legacy of Alis. Alis are the craft skill by lanes. During
the Peshwa rule in 18th century, Kasba Peth was the centre
of Pune, where the supporting trades like Tambat, Burud,
Kumbhar, Kasar, Badhai, etc. got located. Tambat Ali (an
Ali named after Tambat community) is an area where
copper and brass items are manufactured. It has been
observed that, in Pune these trade practices, which carry
heritage value are undergoing rapid changes. For example
Pagadband Ali where Pagadbands used to make Pagdis
(caps), which had great importance particularly in Peshwa
period, is now on the verge of decline. In order to avoid the
loss of such significant heritage skill, it has become
necessary to record the existing picture of Alis. The aim of
this paper is to give analysis of changes in the evolution of
the Tambat Ali. This paper attempts to document, the
existing working craftsmen’s in Tambat Ali, along with a set
of recommendations that would help to preserve the
character of this area.
Keywords: Tambat Ali, Pune, Architecture, Craft skill,
coppersmiths,Introduction:
Pune is a historical city and Kasba Peth is the oldest
part of the city. Down the centuries, Pune has been ruled by
several dynasties. In 2003 some artefacts were found in Kasba
peth area from the Satvahana period which evidences the
settled life in that area around 200BC. One can find the
references to the Pune region in copper plates dated 758 and
768 A.D. issued by Rashtrakuta ruler, in these copper plates
Pune is referred as „Punya vishay‟ and „Punaka Vishay‟
respectively (i). Punya meaning „holy‟ and Vishaya meaning
„region‟. It was so described because the city has a confluence
of two rivers Mula and Mutha, which is considered holy in the
Hindu religion (ii). From 9th century Pune region became the
part of Yadava Empire, which was defeated by the Mughals in
the 11th century. During the 12th and 13th century, Pune was
under the rule of Allaudin Khilji and later Muhammad
Tuglaq, for a long time Pune was under Muslim ruler
(ii).During 1600-1817 v AD Marathas ruled Pune. Pune
city was the seat of Peshwa, the prime minister of Maratha
king from 1713-1818 AD, Nine Peshwas ruled Pune city
during this period. In 1735 Peshwa I shifted capital city from
Satara to Pune which increased the political and economic
importance of the Pune city. Over 18 Peths were establishedduring the 18th century. The Maratha power ended in 1818 and
the British set up an empire in the Pune city (ii).
According to the author of the Gazetteer, the starting
point of the settlement in Pune was near the river bank of
Mula-Mutha, he reasons that the presence of river attracted
the settlement. According to the local tradition, there were
three original villages-„Kasarli‟, „Kumbharli‟ and „Punewadi‟
(iii). It is more likely that they were small hamlets rather than
villages. We can still find these three villages as Kasar Ali
(Tambat Ali), Kumbhar wadi and Kasba peth respectively. By
the time of Peshwa rule these small hamlets had grown and
became a Kasbe Pune.
The Bara Balutedar system was a hereditary village
servant system of twelve trades which existed at the time of
Peshwa rule. The Balutedari system was important part of
socio-economic life of city of Pune. Kumbhars (potters) and
Tambats (copper smiths) were one of the important members
of Balutedari system. Peshwas invited people with specialised
skills from different areas to come and settle in Pune Tambat Ali:
Alis are the craft skill by lanes – places where groups
of people with special skills lived together and carried out
their trade. These Alis were named after the trade or
profession they carried out. All the Tambats (coppersmiths)
used to live together in Tambat Ali. The name „Tambat’ came
from the Marathi word „Tamba‟ which means copper and
hence people working in copper are called as Tambats and
place where they live together is called as Tambat Ali.
Peshwasinvited Tambats some 400 years backfrom Konkan
region of Maharashtra to come and settle down in Pune (v)Expanse of Tambat Ali:
Ali is situated in the Kasba Peth of Pune city, which
is the oldest part of the city. Tambat Ali lies between Manik
chowk and Pawale chowk, well known chowks in Kasba Peth
(refer map 1). Tambat Ali can be access from Agarwal road
which leads to Pawale chowks and also from subsidiary road
from Kasba Ganpati (Gram daivat of Pune). Initially there
were 200 houses of Tambats and around 810 people were
working in Karkhanas (workshops) as Tambats
(coppersmiths) (v). Now in year 2020, survey done in
TambatAlishows that there are only around 100 craftsmen‟s
who are working in28 Karkhanas,which are still practicing in
the same profession. Location of these existing Karkhanas
(workshops) is shown in the map1. This shows decrease in the
number of Karkhanas and craftsmen‟s due to lack of demand
of copper products, Introduction of new materials such as
stainless steel and aluminium.

Building typology and Existing condition of Building:
The earlier residences of the Tambats were not built
as per their requirements, hence they purchased new plots and
built houses which were suitable for them. Later on,
increasing family size and the business made the available
space inadequate and the need for new work place was felt,
but further extensions was not possible because of lack of
funds and lack of space (v). So the extensions become more
open to sky and temporary. This has led to formation of an
interesting pattern of open spaces interlinking roads and work
places (v). But now many of the buildings are not in good
condition (refer picture 4).
Types of Karkhanas (workshops):
Initially when the manpower was easily available and
demand for copper products was more all the Tambats
(coppersmiths) used to craft the utensils from raw materials in
their own Karkhanas (workshops) itself. At this time 3-4 craftsmen from the family along with 3-4 other craftsmen
used to work in one workshop. The Tambats engaged
themselves in melting copper, beating the molten mass into
sheets and preparing utensils. But, later around 1910, metal
sheets began to arrive from America which was used for the
manufacture of the utensils (iv). These craftsmen eventually
decreased in number due to lack of demand, low returns and
now only one craftsmen from the same family work in their
workshop. During the late 19th century due to technological
advancement some craftsmen who were economically capable
bought their own spinning machines which helped them
increase their production in less time with less manpower.
Now there are mainly two types of workshop present here;
one where the complete work is done i.e. Right from crafting
the copper utensils to finishing and then selling to customers;
other one where only the finishing work is carried out. The
Craftsmen‟s who belong to type one workshops get more
returns as compared to type two workshops as they have their
own spinning machines.

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