High silver prices threaten Lucknow’s famed bridal nagra craft

In Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh and a city known for its Nawabi heritage and artisanship, 55-year-old Azhar Hussain sits at the bench where he has spent years making decorative footwear. His tools are still there, but the customers are not. Amid soaring silver prices over the past year, demand for his work has plummeted. The small workshop sits beside Chowk Bazaar, one of Old Lucknow’s oldest and busiest markets, a famed hub for wedding shopping full of silver jewellery and handcrafts. For three decades, Hussain has been one of the bazaar’s busiest craftsmen, making a distinctive form of silver slip-on shoes, known locally as nagras.