This morning I was pleasantly surprised to hear the loud call
of a man who sharpens knives and scissors, in our residential locality. Carrying
a wooden contraption on his frail
shoulders onto which was affixed a grinding
wheel for sharpening knives, he went around expectantly from door to door,
offering his services…
Dressed in a shabby ankle length check lungi and an off- white, frayed, full shirt which had definitely
seen better days, the dark man with a weather beaten look about him went about
with drooping shoulders and a defeated demeanor . I doubt if his visit to our
locality was worth it. In these days where knife sharpeners are available readily
in any departmental store, I guess people like him may find it hard to make a
living out of their dying profession…
Come to think of it, these days, a lot of professions seem
to be fast disappearing. I remember till about a couple of decades or so, just
before the onset of the monsoons, men used to go about repairing umbrellas and
bags. Similarly, cobblers too with shabby bags filled with tools and spares
were a common sight as they sat in front of houses, re-stitching broken straps or
soles, and sometimes even reconstructing the whole slipper which was often in
pretty bad shape.
Then there were dusky Tamil ladies with kids in tow, who
used to go about asking if households wanted their grinding stones redone (Ammi
Kothal) or copper vessels lined with lead without which it couldn’t be used
(Iiyam pooshal). Aluminum and stainless steel vessels of all shapes and sizes
were carted around on a bicycle by vendors who often traded it for old clothes…
My own grandmother, like many other ladies of her times, had a hobby of buying
such vessels from these people and took great pride over her collection!
I have no doubt that many such professions have passed away
to give way to a developed nation with its modernistic views and attitudes. Such
changes are inevitable too. But once in a while when I see such a person from
the past, I can’t help taking pleasure in the feeling of familiarity which
dotted my childhood days…
