Bronze, also known as Kansa, is an alloy created by melting copper and tin. It produces a pleasant sound when struck, making it an ideal metal for crafting temple bells and Tibetan gongs.

Kansa is referenced in the Rig Veda and Charak Sanhita. Traditionally crafted from a solid lump of kansa on anvils, artisans would heat and shape the metal simultaneously using steel shapers. Artisans from Satna in Madhya Pradesh transform molten kansa into sheets and shape it to create utensils. It is then hand-polished with sand and tamarind juice. In 11th-century Odisha, the Kansari community handcrafted decorative items for palaces, temples, and social rituals under royal patronage. Today, they are mostly concentrated in Balakati and Kantilo in Rourkela district. Commonly referred to as bell metal, craftsmen shape hot metal lumps by hammering it. The inside is scraped to give it a golden glow, while the outside is left dark.

In Gujarat, Kansawala artisans create utensils by hammering a series of tiny dents into the hot metal. In Assam, the Kahar or Orja community of Sarthebari craft religious accessories and jewellery using bell metal. Tracing its origins back to the Varman and Ahom dynasties, renowned Chinese scholar Hieuen Tsang mentioned receiving a bhortal or cymbal, from Kamrup rulers (erstwhile Assam). Bell metal works of Mannar in Alappuzha, Kerala are believed to have been brought by the Vishwakarma community from Tamil Nadu 200 years ago to build accessories for temples. The Kansa utensil-making community of Jandiala Guru in Punjab, once supported by Maharana Ranjit Singh, was honoured with the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage tag in 2014.

Several Indian beauty brands, especially those that espouse making luxury beauty solutions from ancient Ayurvedic wisdom, have developed beauty wands using kansa. They advocate its pH balancing and anti-aging benefits. It is used for massaging the face to enhance blood circulation and keep the skin robust and elastic.

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