Framed! Vadodara8217;s claim to fame

VADODARA, May 10: Few pay attention to these ubiquitous adornments, though the home that doesn't have at least one on its walls is a rarity....

VADODARA, May 10: Few pay attention to these ubiquitous adornments, though the home that doesn8217;t have at least one on its walls is a rarity. Frames 8212; of photos, paintings, idols 8212; are something the layman takes for granted today, even in Vadodara, where an entrepreneur pioneered the manufacture of tin photo frames six decades ago.

That8217;s right. It was in Vadodara, opposite Jubilee Baug, to be precise, that Mullah Jainuddin, popularly known as Filmwalla, took apart a steel frame manufactured in Calcutta to discover how it was put together, and then adapted the technology to tin. He passed on the knowledge to his brother; his nephew, Ismailbhai Kaachwala runs Royal Frame Makers 8212; the very same shop Filmwala set up 8212; today.

Thanks to the demand for the sturdy, yet inexpensive frames, the family has prospered over the years. Their one shop has become two; the family also owns a frame manufacturing unit.

Filmwala 8212; his title comes from his interest in photography 8212; also taught the trade to his son-in-law Kurbanhussein Chinwala. It is from him Express Newsline learnt the story of the first tin frame.

Filmwala8217;s frames today find the widest acceptance in pilgrimage towns like Nathdwara, Pavagadh, Ambaji, Dwarka, Ajmer and Shirdi, says Chinwala, adding that they supplied the maximum number of frames to Tirupati-Tirumala. Some of their chromium frames make their way abroad as well, he adds.

The trade Filmwala introduced 60 years ago has not been confined to one family: the city today has 20 small factories manufacturing 12,000 frames daily. Interestingly, however, the business is virtually monopolised by the Alvi Bohra community, says Chinwala.

Apart from tin frames, the Royal Frame Makers also deal with wood. But spiralling costs and poor wood quality have affected their business. 8220;My uncle used to get wooden frames and strips from Norway; we make do with cheel wood lined with plaster of Paris8221;, says Kaachwala. 8220;Most city artists get their works framed here, and though we value them, we cannot depend on them for our trade.8221;

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For that they have to fall back on the tin frames. Chinwala points out that while a 80 square inch frame in the cheapest wood and chromium plating would cost Rs 60, a tin frame of the same size would cost around Rs 25; less in wholesale. Even lamination was no competition for tin frames, he adds.