Lac-Worth Its Weight In Gold

Lac was known and being used in India during  the Mahabharat times. The Kauravs had a Lac Palace made for  the Pandavs  to stay in during their Banbas period.They wanted to torch the palace while the Pandavs slept.Lac flows when heated and burns easily if naked flame is applied to it. Fore warned Pandavs had to make a tunnel to come out of the burning Palace alive.

Lac is commonly cultivated from the insect species   kerria lacca in India.The secretion is scarlet in color and is deposited by the insect in the branches of host trees like Ber, Dhak and Kusum. It is harvested from the trees for various uses.

In ancient times in India it was  used as a dye for woolen and silken materials and for torturing people.I It is also used  as a filling in fat gold and silver bangles as it gives weight to the ornaments. Transparent lac is also used in Ayurvedic   medicine and in airplanes to fill cracks.

From 18 th century onwards the  artisans of Jaipur in the maniharon ka raasta  have been producing lac bangles- Chura. Now a days  they make whole jewellery sets of Lac.  They also make gift items of Lac like replicas of guitars,jewellery boxes, mirror frames  bottles  and pen stands.To add beauty to these items they are inlaid  with little pieces of mirror etc.These items are in huge demand by the locals and tourists alike.Lac items are exported also.

Karan’s Guesthouse