Clanging metal echoes at the bus stand at Oomatchikulam. It is not the usual kothu parotta sound that Madurai is famous for. It is the slightly harder noise of hot iron being hammered. A group of 20-odd blacksmiths from western India have descended on the city in search of a livelihood. With unkempt hair and grimy faces, they may look alarming. But their bright smiles and the glittering odhnis, dupattas and ghagras they wear are hard to miss.
Distinct from the locals, they have added a new colour to the place. The roadside is where they live, sleep, eat and work. Amidst the honking of auto rickshaws and buses and the chattering crowds, the sounds of Mewari and Hindi stand out. “We are here for a few days. We don’t have any home. We are nomads and the whole world is our home,” says Malkhan, the oldest man in the clan. “ Bade sapne dekhne me koi galti nahi ,” he chuckles. (There is nothing wrong in dreaming big.) The weariness of long travels from the interiors of Rajasthan to the temple town shows in his eyes and the deep wrinkles on his face. But, according to Malkhan, their journey started hundreds of years ago, when the Chittorgarh fort was captured by the Mughals.
Strange tradition
“We belong to the Gadholia lohar (blacksmith) clan and our history dates back to the Mughal period,” Malkhan says with pride. Though nomadic, when asked where they are from, the Gadholias identify Chittorgarh as their hometown. But the strange tradition is that they are not supposed to settle in Chittorgarh.
The Gadholias weren’t exiled by the king but by their own self-imposed vow. Malkhan says, “Our ancestors had taken a vow of not returning to our hometown. And it is believed that one who breaks the vow will be punished by Goddess Kali, the guardian deity of the Chittorgarh fort.”
Jughni, a blacksmith’s wife, explains the history behind the vow. Chittorgarh was often attacked by Mughals and the Rajputs would recapture the fort each time, she says. “But, when Emperor Akbar captured it for the third time, the Gadholias were upset and took a vow that until the Rajputs came back to power, they won’t return to the city,” she says. “Unfortunately, that never happened and till now we continue to be nomads, abiding by the vow we took.”
The clan never stays in a place more than a week. “If there is good business, we may stay for a fortnight, otherwise, we keep moving every three days,” says Atmaram. “This is our first time in Madurai and the market for sickles seems good, as we had heard.”
The locals come to these blacksmiths for iron tools. Many feel that they are priced lower than in the city’s own Arasaradi and Sammattipuram iron market. “An aruval at Arasaradi would cost Rs.400 and the same sized sickle can be bought here for Rs.200. The iron quality is also better,” says Asairaj. “They sell one kilogram of iron for Rs.100, which is half the price in the Madurai iron market.”
The Gadholias sell sickles, butcher knives, hammers and axes of different sizes and weights. But they are unfamiliar with the South Indian aruval and are more known for the talwars . “The kasappu kathis they make are much better than the locally available varieties,” says Siva, a butcher at Oomatchikulam.
Traditionally, the Gadholia men heat the iron while women and children beat it into shape. Poverty and illiteracy seem to be common among these blacksmiths. The business doesn’t yield much wealth, yet they take great pride in their work. “We don’t own any lands and agriculture is not our work. Earlier, we used to make farming tools for the peasants,” says Jughni. “This work is our life and we start doing it at a young age.” As Twelve-year-old Bheeru had never held a pen in his hand but ever since he was six, he has been beating red-hot iron with heavy hammers. Bheeru says, “Even the kids in our clan make big talwars as if they were toys. Our ancestors made the weapons for the Rajput Rajas.”
