Telangana steel, steeped in history

Historian sheds light on region’s contribution to arms, armour

In the mixture of Salar Jung Museum’s swords, daggers, guptis (concealed swords), shields, battle-axes, spears, and armour parts like helmets, armguards, coat of mail and char-aina, the visitors find a variety of materials and designs used, in Hyderabad on Saturday.

It was one anecdote after another as historian S. Jaikishan narrated the journey of Telangana steel known as wootz from the interiors of the region to the foundries of the Middle East and Europe for his talk on ‘Telangana’s Contribution to Arms & Armour’ at the Salar Jung Museum on Saturday.

“There were over 600 sites in Telangana where iron was produced. It was not bulk production but artisanal production with exceptional quality that was prized everywhere in the world,” said Mr. Jaikishan, who teaches history and is a guest faculty at many universities.

Henry Voysey travelled in Nizam’s dominions in Telangana to discover the secret of the steel but could not despite spending three years in the region in early 19th century.

“He called the metal Telinga because it was mined and processed in the region,” said Mr. Jaikishan.

He also discussed how writers and travellers from across the world reported about the quality of the steel made in the region.

“The steel was made with a process which created carbon nanotubes in the metal making it rustproof as well as extremely flexible when moulded into swords. Forge-welded swords with interesting patterns were possible due to the high quality of the steel produced in Telangana,” said Mr. Jaikishan.

The presentation on various aspects of steel making in Telangana was followed by a visit to the armoury section of the museum. The event was organised by Historical Society of Hyderabad.