I spent the whole of last Saturday, visiting our city's metal market. While metal is available all over the city of Mumbai, this is the one place where every kind of metal in whatever form one may need is available in huge quantities!
The metal market itself if an extremely interesting place, located in the southern part of the city, it is still reminiscent of an era gone by. The name itself is a hail back to a time long gone, known as 'Tambakata' to those of us who frequent the place translated it means the place where copper is weighed. 'Tamba = Copper' and 'Kata=weighing scale ' . While the scale no longer exists, the name creates a mysterious allure. Small and big, retail and wholesale shops, line both side of a street, selling everything from copper, brass, lead, steel, nickel silver to bronze and aluminum, in sheet, pipe, wire, rod form. Whether you need copper rivets or steel meshes everything can be found here, one only need to be brave enough to leg it!
The metal market is a mad, cacophonous place, with everything from, tempos to handcarts bringing in and taking out the metal. People that come for shopping mostly have to be on their feet, preferring to park their vehicles almost 2 Kms. away .
To me the metal market nearly always is a place for finding inspiration and ideas for new works. Simply browsing around the shop looking at the various gauges of metal, rods, pipes and foils gleaming away in their shelves is enough to set my mental wheels spinning.
What if you are not an artist, maybe you are just looking for artifacts for your home, well then this is a place for you too, you can find the most decorative brass bells in all the sizes, you can even find antique brass and copper vessels.
My recent buys have been restricted to wires of all the possible gauges and a few sheets of copper, but if ever I move from Mumbai, I will certainly miss my beloved market.
P.S. tell me that all that metal is not tempting !!
The metal market itself if an extremely interesting place, located in the southern part of the city, it is still reminiscent of an era gone by. The name itself is a hail back to a time long gone, known as 'Tambakata' to those of us who frequent the place translated it means the place where copper is weighed. 'Tamba = Copper' and 'Kata=weighing scale ' . While the scale no longer exists, the name creates a mysterious allure. Small and big, retail and wholesale shops, line both side of a street, selling everything from copper, brass, lead, steel, nickel silver to bronze and aluminum, in sheet, pipe, wire, rod form. Whether you need copper rivets or steel meshes everything can be found here, one only need to be brave enough to leg it!
 |
| Some of my tamba kata buys |
To me the metal market nearly always is a place for finding inspiration and ideas for new works. Simply browsing around the shop looking at the various gauges of metal, rods, pipes and foils gleaming away in their shelves is enough to set my mental wheels spinning.
What if you are not an artist, maybe you are just looking for artifacts for your home, well then this is a place for you too, you can find the most decorative brass bells in all the sizes, you can even find antique brass and copper vessels.
My recent buys have been restricted to wires of all the possible gauges and a few sheets of copper, but if ever I move from Mumbai, I will certainly miss my beloved market.
P.S. tell me that all that metal is not tempting !!
I love tamba kata! I visit it all the time.
ReplyDeleteDo you know a shope named "paras .... " , I had purchased bell metal vessel from there but I forgot contact number.
DeleteHey bellybytes me too it is chaotically fun isn't it ?? :D
ReplyDeleteHi! I am new to Mumbai and need find some metal pipes for college work.. coupld you tell me how to reach this place?
ReplyDeleteHi Srivathsan :) Thanks for dropping by . To get to Tamaba Kaata you have to go to CST station from there you can either take a cab or if you are like me and like to walk you can walk towards crawford market, continue onto Zhaveri bazaar, turn right at Mumba Devi temple then turn left and follow the road you will reach the metal market . Have fun :)
ReplyDeleteReally I am impressed from this post....the person who created this post is a genius and knows how to keep the readers connected.Thanks for sharing this with us. I found it informative and interesting. Looking forward for more updates.
ReplyDeleteIndian Stock Market Tips