Sunday, November 11, 2012

STREET REPAIRMEN / ARTISANS IN KGF IN THE OLD DAYS - THE COBBLER, THE UMBRELLA REPAIRMAN, THE LOCKSMITH ETC

There were a few other ‘service providers’ or repairmen, who were also an integral part of our life in KGF in those days. The Umbrella Repairer, the Cobbler or ‘chakla’ as he was colloquially called, The Bed Repairman, the Knife Sharpener, the Grinding Stone Tapper, the Plastic Bucket Repairer, the Lock Repairer, to name a few of them

All these ‘service vendors or providers’ had their own special way of calling out when they came around and people would identify their call and beckon to them in case they needed their services. Some of these people are now extinct with the changed way of life.

I remember the Umbrella repairer quite well. He always wore a faded black coat given to him by one of the ‘Dorais’. He carried a tin trunk filled with different tools and paraphernalia such as spokes, handles, black cloth, etc, required for repairing umbrellas or parasols.  His charges were very nominal and he would finish his job in a little while’s time and be on his way scouting for his next customer.

In those days, SUN BRAND Black Umbrellas were the prized possessions of every one and every family in KGF possessed atleast one black umbrella of this particular brand. It was duly flaunted in both sunshine and rain and many of them had faded to a dull grey from over exposure to the elements! But no one cared as long as they had an umbrella to protect them from the sun and rain.


The cobbler or shoe repair man was known as the ‘chakkla’ in Tamil. There were many cobblers in those days.  They could be seen sitting under trees or near the market or railway station, with
the tools of their trade spread out, busy repairing their customer’s shoes and boots and other footwear.

They were also expert shoe polishers and could shine a pair of shoes in a jiffy while the person waited. Some of them however, didn’t sit in one place and wait for customers. They would move around the streets and roads of KGF calling out ‘shoe repair, shoe repair’. They carried their tools and shoe brushes and polish in a bag on their shoulders and repaired foot wear and even suitcases if needed.



The plastic bucket repairer and the lock smith or repairer were also ‘door to door’ service providers in their particular area of expertise. Like the Umbrella repair man they carried the tools of their trade in small trunks and would attend to any repairs in next to no time. The lock repairer was very fast in making duplicate keys and could open any lock that was jammed in a thrice!!!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

ALL SOULS DAY IN KGF - MEMORIES

 

MEMORIES OF ALL SOULS DAY IN KGF - An excerpt from my book KOLAR GOLD FIELDS DOWN MEMORY LANE

All Souls Day falls on the 2nd of November every year. It is primarily a day for remembering the departed souls and is observed mainly by Catholics and Anglicans. The official name of the celebration in the Roman Rite liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church is "The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed".

The All Soul’s day was also known as the Graveyard Feast / Cemetery Feast or “Kalrai Thirunal”(in Tamil).Even though it was a Christian day of remembrance for honoring the departed souls, it was celebrated as a Festival for remembering the dead even by non-Christians and people of other communities as well. This is one example of the communal harmony that existed between the different communities of KGF where its secular nature was unparalleled.

Today being All Soul’s Day, it brings back many memories of this day in KGF when we were growing up.
The Cemetery in KGF has the graves of three generations of our family on our paternal side. All my dad’s ancestors lived and worked in KGF since almost the beginning of the mines in the late 1800s. My dad’s forefathers came in from England and Scotland to earn a living in KGF and eventually died in this place.

There are almost sixty graves of our family members in the Catholic Cemetery in KGF. The Cemetery also has a number of graves of other old families of KGF. There are also graves of many Britishers, Italians, French, etc. who were all employees of the KGF Mines and who died there either naturally or as a result of the Rock Bursts and accidents underground in the mines. Most of these graves lie unattended and forgotten as their dependents are no longer in KGF.
 
All Souls Day falls on the 2nd of November every year and a week before this, my dad would send a team of his workmen to the Cemetery, to repair, clean, paint and generally do up all the graves of our deceased family members. His workmen would work really hard painting the graves and getting the surroundings cleaned.

On the morning of All Souls’ Day, we would all help to make around 75 wreaths at home, with silver oak leaves and flowers. Isaac our faithful house boy would make the outer Rings or circles out of mulberry branches and stems  from the garden. All of us would sit on the ground and arrange the silver oak leaves and ferns around the rings and fasten them with twine. Then the asters, lilies, daisies or roses (that were specially brought in from Russell Market Bangalore) would be arranged around the wreath and fastened with twine.

In the evening, we’d take all the wreaths and loose flowers to the Cemetery and go around placing the wreaths on the graves of our dear ones, pausing and praying for the repose of their souls. We would meet a lot of our friends and relatives in the cemetery that day as everyone had some departed member of their family buried in the Catholic Cemetery in KGF.

Since, All Soul’s Day morphed in to a feast day for remembering the dead, there was a carnival like atmosphere around the 4 Cemeteries. Vendors selling flowers, candles, balloons, sweets, savouries, etc.  After we visited all the graves and prayed for the departed souls, we would have a gala time buying balloons, blowing whistles made of pieces of bamboo, hair clips, plastic sun glasses, etc that the vendors sold outside the cemetery. It was a colorful and noisy feast with lots of people milling around and the vendors doing brisk business selling these toys, ground nuts, hot stuff, sweets, colored ribbons, glass bangles, flowers, candles, etc.

The All Soul’s day was also known as the Graveyard or Cemetery Feast or “Kalrai Thirunal” in Tamil. Even though it was a Christian day of remembrance for honoring the departed souls, it was celebrated as a Festival for remembering the dead even by non-Christians and people of other communities as well.

This is one example of the communal harmony that existed between the different communities of KGF where its secular nature was unparalleled.

Copy Right

ALL CONTENT ON THIS BLOG IS THE SOLE COPY RIGHT & PROPERTY OF BRIDGET WHITE-KUMAR.
PLEASE NOTE: NO ARTICLES, PHOTOGRAPHS, INFORMATION OR PART THERE OF, of this SITE / PUBLICATION may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electrical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the owner of this blog as any copying without permission will amount to Plagarism and infringement of Copy Right.