Memories of a bygone era...

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…