The rhythmic clang of the hammer has been Hanuman Singh’s constant companion for 40 years. Hanuman spends his days transforming sheets of metals into various tools. Hundreds of dusty metal tubs are stacked in one corner of the tin shed that is his workshop. In a corner hanging by a wooden rod are spades of various sizes. “Masonry tools are the most selling products from our workshop. This includes tubs for mixing concrete, spades and trowels,” he says.
Hanuman is part of the blacksmith community that migrated to the city from Punjab several decades ago.
Born in Hyderabad, Hanuman moved to Visakhapatnam in the 1980s. “My father supplied masonry tools to the agency that was involved in the construction of the Vizag Steel Plant,” he explains .
“Initially we lived in Dwarka Nagar, in the area where the current LIC building stands. We moved to Maddilapalem over 30 years ago,” he adds. Currently, over 20 Punjabi families live in Maddilapalem. Most of them have makeshift houses sometimes not more than tin sheds. “There are over 200 Punjabi families of blacksmiths living in Gajuwaka, Madhurawada and Akkayapalem.” Most of them now consider Visakhapatnam as their home and have little connect with Punjab. “My Hindi actually has a slight South Indian accent,” laughs 26-year-old Nayan Singh who lives nextdoor to Hanuman.
Hanuman started blacksmithing when he was a teenager learning his profession from his father. “As a child, I spent hours watching him make tools out of sheets of metal, ,” he recalls.
His day begins at 9 am when he opens his workshop and displays the tools. He spends the rest of the day shaping metal into spades, pots and pans.
Most of the tools at his workshop are made by upcycling worn-out metal barrels. “These barrels are brought from the auctions held by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. Circular sheets are cut out out of these barrels which are then moulded in the form of a tub with the help of a machine,” he adds.
Hanuman Singh and Nayan Singh at work in their workshop at Maddilapalem, Visakhapatnam
Hanuman remembers ruefully when people also came to him to buy cookware. However, over the years the demand for metal cookware has gone down as more number of people are preferring to buy them from the supermarkets. “When a person gets everything under one roof at supermarkets who would want to come all the way here to buy them?” he asks. Fortunately the increased demand for construction tools help them sustain themselves. “The summers are the peak season for us as most construction work happens now. It is during the monsoons when we struggle to sell,” he adds.
Hanuman could be the last generation which is practising this profession. Decreased demands, laborious process and less remuneration has seen the younger generation turn its back to this profession. “There is a lot of manual work involved , the younger generation does not believe in working that hard for so little. Most of them are looking out for jobs in the automobile industry,” says Hanuman who has six children none of whom wishes to be a blacksmith.
(Living Vizag is a weekly column that profiles people who make the city special, and explore it through their eyes)
