THE STONE OF RAJASTHAN- WHITE MARBLE

Makrana, a small town in Rajasthan, has been famous for its marble mines since ancient times. Four hundred years ago the Makrana marble adorned the magnificent monuments of the Mughals, including the world famous, Taj Mahal at Agra. Two centuries later, Viceroy Lord Curzon used the Makrana marble for Kolkatta’s Victoria Memorial. Marble is quarried in a series of channels or slots made in the face of the rock. It is extracted by manual labour as blasting may damage or crack the marble. In its pure from marble is ivory-white in colour. Impurities often give it shades of pink, green, brown and cream. Black and grey marble is very rare and hence expensive. The Makarana marble has very few veins and does not turn yellow even after years of the exposure to nature.

The rough marble blocks are cut and polished before being sold. Earlier cutters used hand saws while continuously pouring water and sand on the marble to facilitate cutting. Then during the 1920s, the English set up the first marble cutting machine. There are now over sixty such machines, making Makrana a major marble processing centre. Makrana’s entire economy revolves around marble. Most of the inhabitants depend on the mines for their livelihood. The marble quarries contribute an annual revenue of nearly ten crore repees to the state exchequer.