Ever heard of Ameer Hamza of Udipi in Karnataka? He is a devout Muslim who prides himself on his services to Hindu temples. He sits late into the night in his poky workshop, cutting, etching and moulding dully gleaming silver sheets into sparkling objects of veneration. These objects include silver coverings and ornate frames for idols, assorted articles for worship and embossings of intricately carved temple door and window frames.
Hamza has been at the job for over four decades, starting at the age of five, and there is hardly a prominent temple in coastal Karnataka where his work is not worshipped and admired. His knowledge of the details of various idols and their significance is said to be the envy of many a Hindu priest.
His fame crossed the borders of Karnataka and fetched him assignments from temples in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu also. To visitors to his small house, Hamza would show a fat album, smudged and dog-eared., which tells of the numerous honours that temples, including the famous one of Lord Krishna in Udipi, bestowed on him. Besides, he has a bunch of gold medals awarded by temples in recognition of the excellence of his craftsmanship.
How do his co-religionists treat him?
“There were a few protestors in the beginning, but I told them that I was as good a Muslim as anyone of them. I go to the mosque at the appointed hour and offer daily prayers. Maybe I occasionally skip a prayer when I am engrossed in my work. But I atone for it by insisting on my children praying five times a day,” Hamza once told reporters.
He has become famous but not rich, and is content with a monthly income of Rs. 800 on an average.
“I could have made a lot of money if I had wanted. But I charge no fixed fee. I am content to accept whatever I am paid for my skill and labour. Even if I had filched a few grammes of silver from every person who brought it, and people bring silver by kilograms, I should by now have built a palace. But I just cannot think of doing such a thing,” he said.
How does it feel sitting bowed over his work for hours on end?
“I work with total devotion. Otherwise, what I create will not have the quality and aura associated with objects of worship. I am always conscious that I am producing something which will be venerated by thousands of people.”
Hamza learnt his skill from his father and plans to bequeath it to his children, two of whom are already into it.
In December 1986 Mysore city witnessed communal riots. Narsamma, a poor Hindu woman, stood surety for 25 arrested Muslims, and two Muslims bailed out several arrested Hindus.
