Glass Bangles

This is the story 'Glass Bangles' from your book, Santoor (Chapter 10). Here it is, told in short.

Firozabad is a busy town in Uttar Pradesh, famous for its glassware and especially for its beautiful glass bangles. Ravi was a skilled glass artisan there. His family had been making bangles for a very long time. His workshop was always busy, full of the clinking of glass and the soft talk of the artisans at work.

Making glass bangles is hard and needs great skill. First, Ravi and his team heated the glass in a furnace, a very hot oven. Then they carefully shaped the glass into bangles, added colours and designs, and let them cool. Ravi made every bangle with care, so that it was both beautiful and long-lasting. The bangles came in many colours, from deep reds and blues to soft, pale shades, often with traditional Indian patterns. At Diwali, the festival of lights, many more people wanted bangles, and the workshop worked day and night.

Ravi's daughter, Ananya, had finished school and wanted to help her father. She had a good eye for design and wanted to add modern touches to the old designs. Ravi supported her, but he worried about keeping their traditional craft true. Ananya mixed delicate floral patterns and geometric shapes with the old designs. At first Ravi was unsure, but soon he saw how beautiful they were. Together they made a special Diwali collection of old and new designs.

The new collection was a big success, and customers loved it. On Diwali night, Ravi and Ananya watched proudly as women and girls walked past their shop wearing the bangles, sparkling under the festival lights. The success helped the whole community too: there was more work for local artisans, and new jobs in packing and transporting the bangles. Ravi's workshop kept on doing well.