Celebrating the richness of
glass city of India, Firozabad

Known as the glass city of India, the trajectory of this glass city can be traced from the ancient period of India. When invaders brought glass articles to India and when these rejected glass articles were collected and melted in a locally made furnace called as “Bhanisa Bhatti” it was the start of the glass industryin Firozabad. Wood was the main fuel of the bhatti and these ancient historic furnaces are still used by people in Sasani near Aligarh and at Purdal Nagar. Bangles and small bottles were made at that time. Asingleban-gle can be made at a time and without joints. These bangleswere called “Kadechhal Ki Chudi”. Since then Firozabad is famous for the glass industry. Colored glass pieces were used for making jhad, fanus (Chandelier) for the royal courts and nobles to decorate their Haveli (Mansion). Gradually, kadas, kangan and bangles became popular among the ladies and young girls. Soon there grew a high demand for the bangles on festive seasons. The popularity and demand became one of the major reasons for the survival of the existing glass bangle industry in Firozabad. Today, Suhag Nagar, an area famous for bridal bangle wear is fulfilling the demand of beautiful colored glass bangles for Suhagin (Married women).Bangle-making is a household business with the traditional technique being passed on through generations (Hornell,1915). More than half of the workforce in the town of Firozabad and nearby rural areas are engaged in the glass and bangle industry. Firozabad has been producing glass bangles for more than 200 years now and is the biggest manufacturer of glass bangles in the world.