The last of the blacksmiths (The Hindu)
“Blacksmithing is one of the last vestiges of caste-based hereditary occupations. It is practiced by a few families at Nagamalai Pudukottai on the Madurai-Theni highway. They make tools for agriculture and construction purposes.
“Their spades, hoes, picks and trowels attract customers from all over south Tamil Nadu. S. Krishnamoorthy (50) and his wife Chithra (45) belong to the fourth generation of a family of blacksmiths. [...]
“[Chithra’s] ancestors [...] were brought to Nagamalai Pudukottai [...] as the village did not have a blacksmith then. ‘It was part of the system to have various service castes within a village, and we were given land to stay and thus have remained here for the past 100 years,’ says Lakshmi (70), [Chitra’s grandmother].
“Though the blacksmiths traditionally — within the Hindu hierarchy — did not have power over land, they were the ones who made all agricultural tools such as hoes, spades, plough tips and picks, the mainstay of the village economy. [...]
“The advent of tipper lorries and earthmovers has resulted in decrease in demand for hoes. Six men used to carry a hoe each to unload sand from a lorry. Now a single person with a hoe can complete the work, he said.”
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