They are perhaps the last remaining symbols of Malabar's once glorious commercial ties with the Middle East, but Koyilandy's 500-year-old hookahs are now going up in smoke. The high cost of raw materials and a fluctuating dollar have almost stopped hookah exports sounding the death knell of what once epitomised social smoking in the Middle East.
A hookah is a multi-layered pipe used for smoking mostly hashish and opium. It operates by water filtration and indirect heat. What distinguishes the Koyilandy hookah is the coconut shell procured from Mysore that acts as a water filter chamber.
Old timers say the ornately designed devices were first commissioned by Yemeni merchants who pitched tents in the Kollam region of Koyilandy, 30 km from here. Till a decade ago, this region used to teem with artisans engaged in the trade. Not any more.
“The cost of raw materials such as zinc, copper and silver has skyrocketed,” says Mr K.P. Nishad, a trader who manufactures and sells hookahs on a large scale.
“Since international trade thrives on dollar, we are also bound to suffer any fluctuation in its value. I keep this going only because it used to be a family business.”
Most of the other manufacturers are either debt-ridden or have closed their shops. Watching a coppersmith hailing from the traditional moosari community laboriously working on a hookah is a delight.
Each part of the hookah is made separately and then joined. Wax moulds are first made to give it a definite shape. Then liquid metal is poured into three layers of clay containers over the wax so that it melts keeping its actual design intact.
An average hookah requires up to 1.5 kg of copper, a similar amount of zinc and 500 gms of silver and takes almost a week to prepare. Hookahs come in various sizes ranging from 12 to 24 inches and are sold at prices ranging between Rs 500 and Rs 1,500 a piece.
“I sent a 1300-piece consignment last week after months of no business, and that too at a loss,” says Nishad. “But I can at least pay the monthly bank remittance.”
Other craftsmen have switched to more productive business. They would return to the trade if the government subsidises the price of raw materials, a benefit enjoyed by those hookah makers in Moradabad and Iran.
