Stories of Artisans

You are too young to have seen the coal operated buses. It happened in 1952 due to the shortage of petrol. They fixed a small steam engine behind every bus. It happened for a year. 100 rupees was all it was needed to become a partner of transportation company but even that was rare in those days. 12 Anne, 1 rupee was the daily wage.

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.

I am around 74 years old. I am working as a cobbler from 25-26 years. Prior to this, I used to be a farm labourer with the Jatt landlords and then I used to be a daily wage labourer. When I stopped doing the labour work. I learnt shoemaking from the village Balberha

My father has never been of any help. He has always been a tippler and a troublemaker. My grandfather was the complete opposite. He was a hardworking farmer and increased our land holding to 400 bighas (nearly 100 acres).

My parents used to work as a farm laborer until I was sixteen. They worked their way out and started cultivating land on contract. Every year we rent 2-3 acres, plant the seasonal crops along with the fodder for cattle.

These shops (around Qila Mubaarak) used to be stables of royal horses. They changed into shops as the monarchs left the fort. My father and grandfather used to work as mechanics for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh and on the side they would bring Sikh kakaars (steel bangles and wooden combs) from Amritsar and sell them in Patiala

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.

I’ve been doing this for 25 years now. When I began, I bought two goats from the village Togawal. One costed me 1100 rupees and other one was for 900 rupees. When the work picked up, I bought some sheep too. Slowly the number went from 17 to 45

My name is Balbir Kaur. My paternal village is Daghaat near BhadsoN. It was my aunt who taught me this craft. I can do embroidery and knit sweaters. I have done all kinds of work – cotton picking, chilli picking, yarning the cotton. I know how to knit cotton shawls too.

My forefathers, who had lived in Pakistan, were also ironsmiths. They made ploughs, yokes, and other tools for the farmers. It used to be called sepi. Our village was Baar, near Burewala. I was named after the name of the village.

My father worked for the Delhi Transport Authority. My mother didn’t have a brother, her parents needed a boy to take care of the household. So, they took me in. I was brought to Nangal when I was three.

My grandfather was from Toba Tek Singh. When the plague spread in 1908, he was two and a half years old. His elder siblings died during the plague, his uncle took the surviving children along and came to Haripur. I was born on the 15th of July, 1944.