Brass Street, locally known as Peetal Gali, is a street located in
Golimar, Karachi
Golimar ( ur, گولیمار ) is one of the neighbourhoods of S.I.T.E. Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The name of Golimar has been changed to Gulbahar.
There are several ethnic groups in Golimar including Muhajirs, Christians, Punjabis, ...
, a locality which lies between
Nazimabad
Nazimabad ( ur, , sd, نئون ناظم آباد) is a suburb of Karachi, Pakistan. It was established in 1952, and is named after the second Governor General of Pakistan Khawaja Nazimuddin.
History
Before the independence of Pakistan, the area ...
and Guru Mandir.
The street is well-known for finest
brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...
work,
utensils and decoration pieces, in Pakistan.
History
The artisans who work in the Brass Street, Karachi have an emigrant background who migrated from the city of
Moradabad
Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...
, a city known as brass city of India, after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947.
Brass work is on the decline in Pakistan and the businesses which are active on the street now only deal with bulk clients who have export and import business.
One reason of the decline of brass work is rising cost of coal which is used in their ovens.
Their work has been exhibited in numerous countries including
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
As of January 2018, the number of shops on the street have decreased to just seven.
References
Streets in Karachi
{{Pakistan-road-stub