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Quake blunts knife industry in Anjaar

Faizal Khan in Anjaar

The quake has blunted the centuries-old knife industry in a town, which was the capital of Kutch till 1548.

Khoja Street in the old town, lined with shops housing exquisitely engraved knives, today lies in a heap of ruins.

The quake on 'Black Friday' has changed the lives of hundreds of artisans and their families. In the quake-flattened Reha village on the outskirts of the town, all 200 families earned their livelihood from this mostly home-based industry.

''One person made three dozen knives, earning up to Rs 2 a piece,'' says Mohammad Ali Moosa, whose family has been knife-makers for eight generations. What remains of his family business is a tiny box-shaped shop that stands on four wooden legs.

Along with Moosa's tiny shop, a few others in the new town that was built after the 1956 quake, also escaped destruction.

''My family lost everything, except this shop,'' says Moosa, perched on the small platform of his shop. The quake brought down Moosa's family workshop, destroying material and machinery. His uncle Yusufbhai Jumes, who had been a municipal corporation president, won the Master Craftsman National Award in 1971.

The knives, swords, scissors and pan-cutters made here go to Rajasthan and Maharashtra, and were even exported to London till about 20 years ago, says Moosa.

The swords, used for poojas, are sold at religious centres like Virpur and Ambaj in Gujarat.

About 3,500 knives and another 100 swords used to be made each day in Reha, where artisans earned a daily income of Rs 200.

The town may have lost its cutting edge, but not hope. ''We can rebuild our heritage if someone is willing to help,'' says Moosa.

UNI

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