Making Marble: Kishangarh, Rajasthan India

Portrait: Elderly Indian man with a beard and a mallet, Bengani Marbles, Rajasthan India

A Man and a Wheel
At a marble-tile workshop in Rajasthan, India, an older worker happily poses for photographs.

One of the things I love about travelling with a photo group is that you can end up in some strange places that you might otherwise miss. In addition, you spend more time in one spot than you would with a ‘normal’ tour group, giving you a chance to think about seeing things differently and to play around with settings and composition.

I was on the road with photographer Karl Grobl from Jim Cline Photo Tours; we had just spent several days around Pushkar for the annual Pushkar Camel Fair (see: Weekly Wanders Pushkar) and were on our way to Jaipur by road when we stopped in the factory district of Kishangarh.

I – like many others, I am sure – had never heard of this little city in Rajasthan. During the days of the British Raj, Kishangarh was the capital of its own princely state. Today it is known (apparently!) as a center for marble trade.

Rajasthan has India’s richest deposits of marble, producing high-grade stone in a variety of unique colors. Kishangarh has a number of small factories turning out quality industrial-standard refined natural marble, as well as some granite.

Watching how the large sheets of stone were cut into massive slabs or small tiles was fascinating. What I particularly loved – and tried to focus on – was the textures of the old surfaces, the ceaseless movement of the machines, and the constant flow of water. What I couldn’t capture was the noise and heat!

Join me for a workshop visit – just a bit off the usual tourist trail …

Green fruit on a desert tree, Pushkar Desert Camp, India

Fruit at the Desert Camp
Morning started hot and early at our desert camp near Pushkar.

Bengani Marbles workshop office, Kishangarh India

Workshop Entry
It’s about an hour’s drive to these unassuming looking premises in the small city of Kishangarh. I love the textures in the colour-washed walls – even when they are in the shadows.

Heat in the Yard
The sun is almost directly overhead; it bounces off the stacked marble sheets and the white dust in the yard.

Moving Marble
The sheets of marble look heavy and cumbersome. As hard as marble is, I’m not sure it would survive a drop! Naturally, there is a noticeable absence of protective clothing.

A Block of Marble and Wet Machinery
It’s hot, dark, and noisy in the workshop. Granite and marble are hard stones – the blades used to to cut them need a constant flow of water to keep them from overheating.

Moving Parts
Texture is everywhere – I love these rusty surfaces. To capture the machine’s movement, I slowed the shutter speed right down – always risky when you don’t have a tripod handy! (ISO 400 16 mm f / 5.6 1/30 sec)

Straight Lines
Looking at the ends of a stack of cut slabs, you can see how cleanly the marble block has been sliced into sheets.

Geometric Patterns
Open culverts under metal grates carry the milky runoff water from the cutting machines.

Splashing Water
Light from the doorways bounces off the wet marble and the spraying water. In addition to keeping the blades cooler, the flow of water reduces friction, dust, and noise. (ISO 200 23 mm f / 9 1/30 sec)

Man with a Mallet
That colourful wheel is spinning rather fast: this doesn’t feel like the safest of workplaces! (ISO 400 70 mm f / 3.2 1/60 sec)

Man and a Spinning Wheel
With a wider angle lens, I capture the whole wheel and the machine driving it. (ISO 400 16 mm f / 5.6 1/30 sec)

Moving Water
The constant flow of waters over the massive blocks of marble has a life of its own; … (ISO 200 17 mm f / 5.6 1/60 sec)

Moving Water
… to try and show this better, I created my first gif. What do you think?