Dau Dayal, a craftsman from Jalesar in Uttar Pradesh, has made a bell weighing 2,100 kilograms for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Dayal is in the profession of making bells of varied shapes and sizes for more than 30 years now. The bell, however, was designed by a Muslim craftsman Iqbal Mistri, reported PTI.

Dayal and Mistri worked together to make a bell of massive proportions, which they think is a first.

Dayal, in an interview with PTI, stated “Our Muslim brothers have expertise in designing, grinding and polishing. When you work on a bell of this size, the difficulty levels increase manifold.”

Dayal, 50, who is a fourth-generation bell maker, added “It’s really hard to ensure you don’t make a single mistake in the months-long process.”

He further attested that the fact that the bell was being made for the Ram Temple kept them going, however he was also honest to admit that the fear of failure also remained at the back of his mind.

Mistri said that success in such giant endeavours are never guaranteed and added that a small delay in pouring molten metal into the mold of the bell would spoil the entire process.

“What’s unique about it is that it is a one piece, from top to bottom. It doesn’t have multiple pieces welded together. This is what made the task much more difficult,” the 56-year-old Mistri said.

According to the craftsmen, the bell is not just made of brass but is a concoction of ‘ashtadhatu’, a combination of eight metals including gold, silver, copper, zinc, lead, tin iron and mercury reported PTI.

Vikas Mittal, chairman of the Jalesar municipal council in the Etah district and also the owner of the shop in which the bell was crafted, said “This piece, which is one of the largest bells in India, will be donated to the Ram Temple.”

The order for the 2,100 kilogram bell was placed before the Mittals by Nirmohi Akhara, one of the litigants in the Ayodhya title dispute, reported PTI.

The bell supposedly cost Rs 21 lakh, according to Mittal, the chairman’s brother. The entire manufacturing process took around four months to complete.

The casting of the bell involved multiple steps from determining the shape and measurement, to cutting out wooden templates for the mold, preparing metal, tuning, grinding and fitting the clapper. A mould was also used to pour the metal into the alloy, according to a report by PTI.

A team of around 25 workers, Hindu and Muslims, worked eight hours daily for a month to make one of the largest bells in the country. 

The creators of the bell have claimed that its sound can be heard up to 15 kilometers.