Vellore district of Tamil Nadu is considered as one of the oldest cities of South India that is renowned for its cultural impact and historic legacy. It is also one of the leading districts of the state in the aspect of educational development by providing the professional education. Earlier the economic condition of the district was very weak due to the absence of major industries. But in later days as the leading industries by government have been set up, besides them the small scale industries have also gained a remarkable growth. This industrial growth produced employment opportunities in the town and also contributed in the growth of district’s economy.
Vellore not only renowned for its history but also popular for the handicrafts that enabled to withstand the challenges successfully through ages and some of the artistries are still flourishing. Some schemes introduced by the state government not only preserved the traditional handicrafts but also promoting their growth. As far as culture and traditional art is concerned Vellore is fortunate enough to possess some highly skilled artisans who have increased the recognition of the handicrafts across the country. Still today quite a lot of people earn their livelihood from their creative pieces of art. One among the much known craft is glass decor.
The history of the glass decoration dates back to the ancient Egyptians. It is said that the Egyptians are the ones who used dark glass for making small vessels and decorated them with contrasting colors of glass threads. Sometimes these glass vessels were also engraved. The art of glass making and engraving spread to Romans. They discovered the methodology of glass blowing which quickly resulted in freedom for craftsmen and developed the different techniques of glass engraving. They used some sort of sharp tools to produce glass engravings which could be enameled or gilded. Romans produced variety of colored glass and also tried out some of the beautiful glass works by blending the glass mosaics.
In Western Europe as the dark ages closed in, glasshouses were appeared. The love for glass decoration of Venetians made them try out new techniques by manipulating the glass in such a way that till then no one had ever tried before and Venice highly developed trading Venetian glass since then. Venetians painted the glass in all the ways by combining several colors in one single object. It created an amazing work of art when the glass and color were combined. It was a great luxury and decorative glass material used for windows and Venice was regarded as the home of art making exquisite glassware and art objects.
The excavations done in different places in India produced several glass objects of different colors like glass beads which belong to Indus valley civilization or Harappa culture. So it seems that the history of Indian glass industry dates back to three- four years before and after Christian era. But Indian glass makers had developed technological skills in the manufacture of beads, bangles and few other articles. But once the Persian craftsmanship of glass making was brought to India, from then they were engaged in the production of glass vessels, glass tiles and other glass decorative objects. Today the ancient art of decorating the glass continues to embellish among crafters with the combination of artistic beauty and skilled craftsmanship. One among such crafters is Mohamed Alif, he possess a shop at Vellore for glass decoration. This shop is run by 5-6 workers who are well skilled in glass decorating works. They import the glass slabs in bulk from Chennai and Bangalore. Nearly 20 catalogues for designs they own and also imports the mural designs from Delhi and Chennai. The work is done on orders taken from customers and they provide home delivery.