Chamakta Maazi: The Cultural Heritage of Varakh in the Old City of Hyderabad, Telangana, AY 2025-26

This report explores varakh, the thin silver leaf most commonly seen on sweets across South Asia. While often approached as a decorative element, this study centres varakh as a sociocultural object, one embedded in everyday practices and systems of meaning. Focusing on the Old City of Hyderabad, historically, and even today, a key site of varakh production, the project examines how the material was used, experienced, and valued by both producers and consumers