Archiving Living Residue of a Lost World; Notes from the Field 2

   

 The erstwhile haveli near Pahari now has different families of zardozi workers/makers living in its different quarters. The family of Naved lives in one room with extended dal’ans and open kitchen, he lives with his parents and two siblings, one brother who teaches in a coaching institute and runs the family and his teenage sister who sometimes helps him with his work depending on her mood. His parents used to work, only one of their children got educated, the rest of them kept working in the embroidery business. It was not as bad before but with the changes in styles and fabrics, embroidery lost much of its market. Some of the things still get exported, but the costs for the raw materials have gone high. Only Naved now is engaged full time in making embroidery. Long working hours and age has affected the eye-sight of both his parents.   

The work that he showed us was for a bag and it had taken him two days almost of many working hours apart from the raw material (Chinese raw material is cheap but low in quality, as per Naved).

                                                                                                  

Archiving Living Residue of a Lost World: Notes from the Field 1

 

The idea of labour being calculated with number of hours and to be paid accordingly was very different from how labour was paid for in agricultural societies.

Have always been fascinated with how the concept of time changed in the modern era, the advent of mechanized clocks, watches in the modern industrial era. For the Britisher colonizers to educate/help an entire population with time they made ghanta ghars at various city chowks.

Again with the advent of further changes in technology time and its keeping has gone through transformation. People largely usually use mobile phones now instead of wearing watches.

Sohail Akhtar 70+  Owns a Clock Repair shop Opp Jama Masjid at Urdu Bazar.  

His family (originally from UP) owned Taj Company Pvt Ltd. Press at Lal Kuan. He stays at Kalan Mahal. The press Published Books  till 1962 and then closed due to lack of business as most people had left for Pakistan. 

His father and grandfather shifted to “Hikmat” (became Hakeems) and he still keeps some Unani dabbas with him.He still repairs clocks but mostly depends on rented income from inherited property.                                             

He was fond of watches which he got as gifts usually from friends and family and later discovered he could work on them as well. 

There is a Taj Press in Pakistan which publishes Quran and other literature. Their press used to mostly do similar religious literature and also some pocket books of poetry like 100 shers of Ghalib/ Zauq etc.                                                                               

At their press, previously stone instead of plate was used for printing then they employed many Kateebs (calligraphers) who would write the script on paper which would be corrected/edited (Taseeh) and then again sent back to Katibs for final version which would be then copied on a plate and then finally printed. 

Sohail sahab spoke on the lower castes becoming powerful and changing times.

At Urdu Bazar other shops have also been sold for money.   

Project: 

Archiving Living Residue of Lost World is supported by Azim Premji Foundation  

Place: Opp Jama Masjid, Urdu  Bazaar

7th Nov 2019