The once bustling workshops in Mumbai's gold market, Zaveri Bazaar, now sit silent with many skilled ‘karigar' (artisans) struggling to find steady work to make ends meet. With the price of gold touching almost Rs1 lakh per 10g, the demand for jewellery is at an all-time low, resulting in hardly any work for goldsmiths.
Fifty-six-year-old Bikash Bagh has worked as a gold ‘karigar' in Zaveri Bazaar since 1988. "After the Covid pandemic, this is perhaps the worst phase we are going through. We used to work 12 hours a day, but now we only have work for about 4 hours a day. Earnings have gone down from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10,000 a month. To add to that is the cost of living in Mumbai which is so high," Bagh said.

Nitai Gorai, another ‘karigar', left Mumbai and went back to his village in West Midnapore, West Bengal. "For the last 3-4 months, there was hardly any work coming. I am supporting a family of 12 people, how can Rs 10,000 suffice? I came back to my village so that I can help in the fields. I also drive an autorickshaw to make ends meet," he said.

Kalidas Sinha Roy, general secretary of Bengali Swarna Shilpi Kalyan Sangha, an association of about 6,000 gold artisans in Mumbai, said, "Earlier, each ‘karigar' used to work on at least 500g gold a month. Now, each one is struggling to get 100g of work. Most artisans are from towns such as Bankura, Hooghly, and Midnapore in West Bengal. Many have started going back."

These ‘karigar' migrate to bigger gold hubs in search of work at a young age and most of the intricate work is learned on the job. Owing to the high cost of living in big cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai, 5-7 karigars live and work together, huddled up in tiny rooms.
Amzad Ali, president of Chennai Bengali Goldsmith Association, said the situation was no better there. "If gold prices continue to soar, this could ring a decline in artisans' work," he said.

"Despite being a gold market, job work has significantly reduced. Even if people have the same purchase budget as they did two years ago, the quantum of gold bought in that amount is much lesser. We get paid based on the amount of gold we work on. There are no young goldsmiths coming from West Bengal too," Ali added.

The high price of gold has made custom pieces unaffordable for many buyers, pushing retailers to reduce new orders and focus on lighter, machine-made alternatives, leaving karigars—who rely heavily on craftsmanship-based demand—on the brink of financial distress.
Bivash Chandra Maity, general secretary of Delhi Swarnkar Sangh, said, "We only have 10% of work that we used to have one year ago. Most of the gold that we work on is the remaking of old gold jewellery. Even wedding-related jewellery orders have reduced."

Machine-made jewellery has begun to run artisans off the road. "There is more demand for handmade jewellery rather than machine-made jewellery as it is known for its unique design and physical touch. There are limited options in machine-made jewellery like chains, some studs etc. Despite higher gold prices, there is steady clientele for big jewellers and showrooms," a prominent Pune-based jeweller said.

Artisans and jewellers said some support from govt would help them upskill and be ready for rainy days. "There were some govt schemes in the past for the small skills industry, but the karigar market is very unorganised and it did not reach the beneficiaries. We also don't understand how to avail the schemes," Amzad Ali said.

Courtesy: TOI