Author: Gurdeep Dhaliwal

Machines can never replace what’s done with hands. All this repair work you see, this fine finishing with these tools is handwork, there’s no machine you can place it under and get such results. I’ve been here for 35 years and I don’t think I will leave soon.

We are carpenters from 15 generations. Our ancestors worked for ‘the Sodhis’ of Ferozpur. It was the honesty of my people that appealed to them. We were to take care of their agricultural machines and daily needs.

My grandfather worked his hardest to bring us to Amritsar from Jaiwali, 25 KMs from here. He learned the woodwork from a craftsman here and started his own business later on. Then bought a house before establishing this shop next to the Golden Temple.

It’s our third generation into making Kirtan related musical instruments. My father Surjan Singh, in whose name the firm stands today, started it in 1940, in 1962 after finishing my metric I joined him and now my son has taken hold of everything.

As far as I know, the business was established in around 1919 and officially registered in 1932. It’ll be 100 years next year, I’m the fourth generation running it. Right now, we have 18 different types of sherbets.

Originally, we are from Bijnour, U.P. My grandfather came with a group of fishermen who got a contract to fish at Harike more than fifty years ago. After the contract was over, he decided to stay back while the others left.

My brother used to work in a cinema, in Muktsar. Those were the days of the reel and he made good money. He asked me to join him. I packed my stuff and went to live with him. From there I moved to Amritsar, Krishna theatre was one of the best in its peak times.

My father used to be a tailor. Then, when we grew up, my brother started making bra patterns. He was so creative. We started working on bras. He made such comfortable pieces. He knew the exact size to be made.

It was all good before Sukhbir Badal made this heritage street, whatever the nonsense it is. He wanted to build a plaza here and asked us to sell our shops. When we denied, he built this wall ruining the rawness of such a spiritual place.

I started this business of shoe-making in 1955, I was twenty years old then. My father was a farmer. I finished my matric in ‘54, it amounted to a lot in those days. I was offered a job of land revenue officer.