MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS

BLACKSMITHY

The blacksmith in rural areas of the district is still one of the important components of the balutedari system. Although in an age of machinery much of the manual labour involved in his operations is dispensed with, services of blacksmith still form an important occupation both in urban and rural areas.

As elsewhere blacksmith's is a hereditary occupation in the district and he comes generally from the Lohar community. With the skill he inherits from his forefathers and the tools and equipment left to him by them, he steps into this business. Unlike other occupations, the tools and equipment require a small capital investment. They consist of an anvil (airan), sledge-hammer (ghan), hammer (hatoda), pincers (sandshi)., bellows (bhata) and so on. The whole set costs about Rs. 150 if the establishment is small and Rs. 200 if it is of a fairly big size.

The blacksmith usually converts a part of his house (or hut) into a small work-shop. In fact, he cannot afford to establish his business away from his residence firstly because he is financially depressed and secondly because, it then becomes difficult for him to secure readily the participation of members of his family in his work.

His main work consists of producing and repairing agricultural implements and domestic articles like spades, pick-axes, furrows sickles, hoes, axles, flat pans (tavas), frying pans (kadhai) and prongs (sandshi). His products and services usually have only local demand, and much of the work carried out is as per the orders placed by customers. In villages the blacksmith is gene-rally paid in kind, but in towns he receives cash for services rendered. His net total earnings in towns vary from Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 per month depending upon the size of his establishment as also upon the demand for his work. But they are certainly low in comparison with the nature and amount of his work, and make it difficult for him to make both ends meet. In such circumstances he has either to offer himself as a labourer to carry out agricultural operations or to migrate to a place where he can secure adequate work.