Smithy in the city

BENGALURU: Rajesh (35) kept dreaming about city life after hearing stories from his friends who droppped out of school and moved to Bengaluru in search of jobs. Rajesh and his friends are from Nagarasana Kote village in Kanakapura.
He remembers how keen he was to move here but now he wishes he had stayed back. “The city is cruel,” says Rajesh, who has cleared his SSLC exams.

His wife, who also
minds the daughters,
gives him a helping hand

He shifted to Bengaluru in 1999 after his father Rachachari found it difficult to survive in their village with the little earnings from his job as a blacksmith. Rachachari was even forced to sell the family’s property to make ends meet.
Rajesh followed his father’s footsteps and now works as a streetside blacksmith near Kadirenahalli Cross, adjacent to Outer Ring Road.
He makes hand tools such as hammer, anvil and chisel, to be used in construction sites, agriculture, carpentry, plumbing and electrical work. He starts his day at 7.30 am and closes at 6.30pm, and works on a forge fuelled by charcoal.

The initial days in the city were  not as good as he had imagined them to be. Rajesh also started to work in a plastic-moulding factory to earn some extra money. His father Rachachari could not, try as he might, adjust to the life here. His customers cheated him, says his wife Gayatriamma. He passed away in 2007. Rajesh lives with his mother Gayatriamma (52), wife Nagarathna (26) and three daughters. His mother and wife also work with him.

 His mother Gayathriamma misses the village too, and wistfully remembers their trips back home

Gayatriamma says, “We go to our village yearly once to meet our relatives. We know everyone there, but here we don’t know our own  neighbours. We have settled down here now because we don’t have any other choice. We live in a small rented house here.”
Rajesh adds “I work hard for my three daughter’s education now. I make about `500 a day. My family is supportive. What else do I need?.”