Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Wandering grinder

At first glance he seemed to be carrying a bicycle - no, a unicycle - on his back. Bent forward by the weight of the frame, he trudged along. A few steps down, he looked up and calculating the optimum angle for his voice to carry through the street, he bellowed, "saana pudikarathu, kaththi saana...".

There weren't many who responded to the call. Even the older folks seem to have forgotten that their knives need sharpening. And this man walked on, untiring, the grindstone-and-wheel arrangement fitted on a wooden frame that he carries on his back, looking up only to repeat his cry, "...saana pudikarathu, kaththi saana!"


4 comments:

manisha sharma said...

hey , nice blog , like it ,
won't be nice if i u can clickover to my blog page too ,
& post some suggestion

Jefferis Evans D'Angelis said...

we have until year 2003-4 more less the same profession ? only they say in spanish: "Se afilan tijeras y cuchillos!!"

Shantaram said...

@ Monisha: ?!
@ Jeff: I know what that means!! :)

P.N. Subramanian said...

Good spotting.This tribe is vanishing.