Meet the only trishul maker of Nagpur

In the busy area of Teen Naal Chowk of Itwari, Nagpur this factory cum shop of trishuls (tridents) offers a veriety of tridents. For generations, Prashant Khode's family has been running this trishul shop, which is more than 100 years old

The shop's owner Prashant Khode claims that he is the only Trishul maker in Nagpur and all the trishul sellers in the city procure trishuls from him

THE FIRST STEP: Prashant Khode heating an iron rod in fire

THE IRON IS HOT: After the iron rod has been heated to the optimum temperature, it becomes easy for Prashant to give a desired shape to the rod

The iron rod is being hammered to be shaped up as a prong

After Prashant makes the prongs, his father and brother pitch in to weld the rods together to form a trident

After welding different parts together, the finished product is an unpolished trishul

After polishing, the trident waits for a painter who will give a final touch of glory to it

The painter does a good job and the trident is ready to be sold. Even though small trishuls take less time to complete, a comparitively bigger one takes around one month for completion

The manufacturing of tridents is a seasonal business as they are not in demand for the entire year. The demand shoots up during Mahashivratri. Prashant says that he sells 250-300 trishuls ever year and earns up to 1.5 lakh rupees per annum

Apart from tridents, chisels and swords are also made at Prashant's shop

In the busy area of Teen Naal Chowk of Itwari, Nagpur this factory cum shop of trishuls (tridents) offers a veriety of tridents. For generations, Prashant Khode's family has been running this trishul shop, which is more than 100 years old

The shop's owner Prashant Khode claims that he is the only Trishul maker in Nagpur and all the trishul sellers in the city procure trishuls from him

THE FIRST STEP: Prashant Khode heating an iron rod in fire

THE IRON IS HOT: After the iron rod has been heated to the optimum temperature, it becomes easy for Prashant to give a desired shape to the rod

The iron rod is being hammered to be shaped up as a prong

After Prashant makes the prongs, his father and brother pitch in to weld the rods together to form a trident

After welding different parts together, the finished product is an unpolished trishul

After polishing, the trident waits for a painter who will give a final touch of glory to it

The painter does a good job and the trident is ready to be sold. Even though small trishuls take less time to complete, a comparitively bigger one takes around one month for completion

The manufacturing of tridents is a seasonal business as they are not in demand for the entire year. The demand shoots up during Mahashivratri. Prashant says that he sells 250-300 trishuls ever year and earns up to 1.5 lakh rupees per annum

Apart from tridents, chisels and swords are also made at Prashant's shop

/ 11 Slides