By Abdul Gani, TwoCircles.net,
Hajo (Assam): Once upon a time Muzammil Ali was a happy man with a hefty amount of earning to run the family decently besides saving money for other activities. But as always time has changed and for 60 year old Ali it has changed for bad. Now, it is the time he sees a gloomy future ahead.
Meet this artisan of a rural village in Hajo in Kamrup district some 45 kilometre from the state capital, Guwahati. He was proud to shape beautiful utensils of Brass Metal which for which the entire area was famous for. But due to the deteriorating condition of the age old traditional cottage industry, the present generation is shying away from the profession.
Artisans at work at their workplace at Muslim Patty in Hajo.
“May be it’s destiny that I need to suffer like this. Now not just me but this industry has faced a crucial time. If it continues to be so very soon it will be dead. Now, I can’t let my son to be engaged in this profession anymore,” Ali told this correspondent at his residence at Muslim Patty.
With mere Rs 6000 or so in a month he is having a tough time to make the ends meet. Ali’s son, Saiful who could not complete the high school now travels to Guwahati seeking various sorts of job on day to day basis. Not just Saiful but many others in the village have done the same as they don’t see any future in the profession.
Brass and Bell Metal products of the locality are famous for their beauty and strength of form and utility. Brass is an important cottage industry, with highest concentration in Hajo, while Sarthebari is well known for its bell metal craft. The major items water pot, dish, bowl of different sizes, water pot with a long neck and others.
Major reasons being the high price of the raw material, lack of interest of the people to buy all these with a higher price and the negligence of the government for such a poor situation of the industry which used to flourish once upon a time.
“We are facing a critical period of time. We can hardly think of taking this job as profession now. Due to the price hike of the raw materials, we also have to increase the price of the product. Then people do not show interest in buying it rather they would go for some machine made products in cheaper price. But it was a profitable and also respectable profession during the time of our fathers,” rued Rustam Ali, a youth.
The price of the raw sheets form which these beautifully decorated items are built has gone up to Rs 550 to Rs 600 from Rs 150 just a few years back.
Besides that, these people of Muslim who belong to Moria Community also alleged that state government again cheated them and alleged financial anomalies in the developmental council.
Hajo Muslim Patty Pital Karikar Santha (HMPKS) president Rajiv Ali said that almost 99 per cent of the brass metal artisans of Muslim Patty in Hajo belong to the Moriya community.
Muzammil Ali at work.
“The state government had extended financial aid to brass metal artisans through the Moriya Development Council. In 2010-11, about Rs 58.20 lakh was released for distribution as financial aid among 582 brass metal artisans belonging to the Moriya community in the state. Only seven such artisans in Muslim Patty received this financial aid and for this they even had to pay Rs 2,000 as commission to the Moriya Development Council chairman,” Rajiv Ali said.
Even though the state government took some initiative for the upliftment of the artisans but these seem to be useless as the time has passed. There was a scheme – State Priority Scheme of Incentive to the Brass Metal Artisans – but it is also in a poor state.
Now, the future of these 300 families of Muslim Patty along with greater Hajo and Sarthebari are in dark.