The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : It is always a relentless search for silver linings

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Thursday, Jun 23, 2011
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

It is always a relentless search for silver linings

Sowmiya Ashok

— Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

A shop-keeper on C. P. Koil Street, Mylapore, checks out an old silk sari to extract silver from the zari.

CHENNAI: Perched at the edge of his shop on C.P. Koil Street in Mylapore is A. Nazeer. Right above his head is a faded red sign which reads: ‘Old zari saris bought here'. This sign, in fact, hangs outside most other shops on this street.

Nazeer fetches a mug of water, takes an acid container and tenderly picks up a beautiful Kancheepurum silk sari. He feels the edges of the zari threads and generously squeezes a few drops of nitric acid on them. “I have to test if this is good quality zari or if it is filled with copper,” he says.

He then dips the thread into water, “If it turns a milky white, then the zari has silver in it,” he declares. Nazeer is on his feet again, this time to detect any trace of copper. “Look how it turns green when you sprinkle the acid? That signifies copper,” he says.

This method of ascertaining the quality of the zari is more reliable than rubbing it against a stone slab. “Sometimes the white stripe that signifies silver may just be superficial under which there may be copper,” says M. Padmanabhan, another shop owner.

This ‘side-business', as many jewellery shops describe the task of collecting old zari saris and melting them to extract the silver, has been thriving for over 30 years.. “Initially, only three people were involved in this business, all of them north Indians,” says Mr. Padmanabhan. “Now even the locals are involved and because of the high silver prices, people are keen on selling their old saris,” he says.

The shops pay the customer for the old sari depending on the zari work. Mani, a shop owner on the same street, says he collects saris over a month and melts them together to avoid wastage. “We cut out the zari borders. Then, the zari is burnt in an iron basin,” explains Mr.Padmanabhan. The cloth burns while the silver settles in a powdered form at the bottom of the basin. “This powder is then melted,” he says. Roughly, it takes three hours to melt 15 saris. On possible occupational hazards from the smoke emitted from the furnace, Mr. Padmanabhan says, “Not at all. People have been doing this for three decades and they are all very healthy.”

The piece of silver is then reused to make jewellery. “I sell it in Parry's Corner to jewellers,” says P. Dhatha from Maharashtra. Some jewellers use the silver to make jewellery in their own shops, while others sell it in places like Sowcarpet.

The diminishing quality of silver is a major issue. “In the new saris, the silver quality has reduced to about 60 per cent when compared to 80 per cent in older saris,” says Mr.Padmanabhan. With 15 shops on C.P.Koil Street engaged in this ‘side-business', there might not be enough good quality zari to keep them going.

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