Delhi NCR, The Government of NCT of Delhi 
About S.S. Babu Handicrafts,
"Saleem Babu is a New Delhi based metal craftsman. His foray in metal crafts started after his mum passed away when he was aged 11. Saleem's family went
through tough financial times which forced him to drop out of school. He learnt 'naqqashi/chitai' in the western world known as 'repousse' and 'chasing' from his late mum's maternal uncle Ustad Iftiyaar in Old Delhi.After training for three years, in 1996 Saleem moved on to learn other metalwork techniques of
forming, forging, and sinking from Ustad Ikraamuddin. It was during his tenure here that he worked in what is seen today as one of the most ambitious of projects, the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The project involved several teams of metal craftsmen from Moradabad, Varanasi, Amritsar and two from Delhi."
Introduced during the time of the Nawabs, Naqqashi or repousse is the art of engraving that has been present for a very long period of time. During those times, it was lucrative business for the artisans to sell their craftsmanship to the British as well as the markets in North India. This craft actually marked one of the turning points for the high culture that was found in Lucknow from 18th century onwards and engravings on metal such as on Paandaans, Khaasdaans and Ughaldaans were the objects that glorified Lucknow’s ethnicity. In earlier times, oversize copper and brass utensils were given during weddings since they were considered as an asset. Wazu ka lota (used for washing hands before Namaaz) and Paandaans (container used to keep all the materials required to make a Paan) are still given in most Muslim weddings.
