https://youtu.be/T8pSZmacses

Mandalay, Myanmar: When the copper prices soared to new heights, the Gong makers of Thailand and Myanmar finally decided to make it shift from the bronze to that of the iron age.

We are talking about the Gongs which are used in various Buddhist monasteries throughout Asia. The craftsmen decided to counter the problem by inventing a large iron disk which resonates with the right pitch.

Than Zaw, a gong maker says that as people demanded bigger gongs with right sounds, the craftsmen began the innovative technique of casting the iron metal into the giant gongs.

While another gong maker, Zin Min, is of the opinion that though machines will make it look smoother for the gongs, it will only be able to reproduce the sounds like hitting an iron or a bronze plate. He adds that unfortunately, machinery fails to create the pitch and beats for a gong to properly work.

The Mandalay craftsmen, believes that their technology is able to invent a gong that will be as large as having a total diameter of 5 meters. Whereas, currently the largest iron gong in production is about 3 meters in diameter and weights a total of 245 kilograms. And the thing is, it will be deal with an impressive price of 2900 dollars.

Lastly, in the words of Panna Jota, who had traveled some 600 kilometers, to purchase modestly sized gongs proudly tells: "Long ago our warriors going into the battle will become energized by the sounds of the gongs and will fight to win. And that's why it is for us the sound of success and victory." (This news is brought to you by NewsGram in collaboration with Voice of America.)