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copper-bell-nirona

The Copper Bell House at Nirona, Kutch, Gujarat

Posted on January 16, 2018May 2, 2025

It was on my third visit to Kutch that I discovered Nirona. As we walk through its dusty lanes, it felt like a typical Indian village with small beautiful houses, its people curious about the newcomers! My first stop was the Copper Bell House at Nirona headed by Mr Husen Luhar. I was invited by the Gujarat Tourism Board to experience the Rann Utsav.

husen-luhar-nirona
Mr. Husen at his Home in Nirona

Nirona is a special village and I realized it with my first stop at the copper bells of Mr. Husen. He is a grandfatherly figure who told me he started making bells at the age of 12! He is in his 70s now! Their family have been making copper bells for at least 7 generations.

I have seen bells so many times without ever being in awe of it! But I was in complete awe when Mr. Husen started weaving his magic. There are no joints in the outer structure or the crown of the bell. It is fitted in together by joining various pieces!

women-copper-bell-nirona
With the Women and the Child of the Household!

After the crown of the bell is done, it is wrapped in a paste and then placed in a brick kiln. This part is done by the women of the household. Once the bell comes out the most interesting part begins. The clapper is attached but the initial sound is quite bland.

Then Mr Husen starts hammering the bell and the sound changes! I could and hear and see it right in front of my eyes. As he would hammer, the sound would change. He has different sounds for cows and buffaloes. Some of his bells sound like birds chirping and all because he hammers them in a certain way!

The whole family has a way with sound. Faruk Luhar loves to play morchang. I also tried my hands at it and I was such an utter flop at it.

The icing on the cake was the smallest kid in the family hammering a musical instrument and enjoying the sound! It feels like sound making is in the air and even babies pick it as they grow!

Our second stop was the Rogan art center and the third at the lacquer but those are tales from Nirona for another day!

copper-bell-nirona-kutch

PS. I was invited by the Gujarat Tourism Board for Rann Utsav

PPS. This is the slowest start to year, as this is my first post in 2018. I vow to do better for the rest of the year.

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24 thoughts on “The Copper Bell House at Nirona, Kutch, Gujarat”

  1. rupam { xhobdo } says:
    January 17, 2018 at 1:18 pm

    Great to read about copper bells. Thanks for all pics and videos.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:25 pm

      Thank you Rupam!

      Reply
  2. pushpendra dwivedi says:
    January 17, 2018 at 1:52 pm

    beautiful traditional post

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:25 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. Lady Fi says:
    January 17, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    Those bells are magical!

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:25 pm

      Yes indeed Lady Fi!

      Reply
  4. Shweta says:
    January 17, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    I enjoyed the video. Still amazed at how that sound could have been made!

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:26 pm

      Thank you Shweta!

      Reply
  5. Joses Travel Tales says:
    January 17, 2018 at 7:22 pm

    Really nice post…loved the first pic a lot Mridula. the copper bells look lovely….saw it first on Twitter and i came back here to read it 🙂 Never been to Gujarat..hope to someday…

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:26 pm

      You will like it whenever you go!

      Reply
  6. Sindhu Devi K says:
    January 18, 2018 at 1:17 am

    Bells sound like chirping birds! It’s amazing!
    Beautiful pictures of bell artworks(?)! And enjoyed the videos.
    Was looking for your posts… Really missed reading the regular doses, now fine with this article 😀

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:27 pm

      Thank you so much Sindhu for your constant support!

      Reply
  7. Zeba says:
    January 18, 2018 at 4:53 pm

    Beautiful and nostalgic.. It took me back to my childhood time I used to visit my village and those simple families involved in such type of wonderful artworks. Sitting and watching fascinatedly as they did their work. I now long to go back to those times..

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:28 pm

      I can only imagine your childhood in those beautiful lanes!

      Reply
  8. Ruby Singh says:
    January 18, 2018 at 11:54 pm

    Something to look out for my next trip to Kutch.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 19, 2018 at 3:29 pm

      Yes Ruby I too went on my third trip!

      Reply
  9. Yogi Saraswat says:
    January 22, 2018 at 12:43 pm

    Lovely designs . India has its natural talent in each and every part of the nation but unfortunately they could not sell their talent .

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      January 23, 2018 at 1:51 pm

      I agree, we need to get better at marketing our handicrafts!

      Reply
  10. Jatin Tailor says:
    February 13, 2018 at 6:57 pm

    I had visited same place in year 2015. I had visit town where very few family’s had expertise in Rogan art. You can find in only kutch. Our PM Narendra.modi has gifted one of the article from this family to US president Barack Obama.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      February 20, 2018 at 8:25 pm

      Yes I visited the Rogan Art at the Khatri household too!

      Reply
  11. Brenda Hayes says:
    June 1, 2018 at 11:40 am

    An amazing post, I never went to Gujarat. Looking forward to a trip there and will definitely have a visit to Nirona.

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      June 2, 2018 at 3:49 pm

      You will enjoy the Kutch region!

      Reply
  12. riya says:
    November 21, 2018 at 4:40 pm

    Loved the blog and thanks for sharing this information. its good to see this much talent of our indian people..keep it up keep going..

    Reply
    1. Mridula Dwivedi says:
      October 17, 2020 at 12:46 am

      Thank you Riya!

      Reply

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About Me

I am Mridula Dwivedi and I started this blog in 2005. It has been an amazing ride. I have visited 33 countries till date! I have worked with many tourism boards and prominent travel companies. My blog was featured on the BBC and the Guardian.

I did my Ph.D. from IIT Kanpur. I worked full time in academics till 2015! I quit my job as a professor, thinking I will take a break for one year, which turned into five.

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