Keonjhar: Four to five young men from Aligarh area of Uttar Pradesh, a place synonymous with locks, can be seen moving around Keonjhar town carrying bagfuls of locks– obviously built in Aligarh.
The name and fame of the place these boys hail from keeps giving them a constant source of earning.
“There are many lock manufacturing companies in our city. While the big companies sell Aligarh made locks directly across the country, the smaller ones sell their products outside through employees. There are also families who manufacture locks and earn their livelihood by selling them from their houses and shops,” observed Muhammad Chand Mallick while hawking for ‘Aligarh locks’ along with Yunis Mallick in Keonjhar town.
These men come to Keonjhar twice in a year. The inn here is the preferred place for their stay. They set out in the morning in the different directions and return in the evening.
“Our per day profit ranges somewhere between Rs 300 and Rs 400,” Mallick adds.
These men have to spend most of their times away from their family. “Here we stay at least for a month. It may exceed, depending on business. However, after spending one or two months at a place we usually go back home and take care of their financial needs. After few days of rest, we set out for another town,” said Yunis as his friend Muhammad was busy attending a customer.
They said they usually go to different cities and towns of Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
“We are not that much educated to expect a good job. We believe in hard work because it keeps our pot boiling back at our homes,” they observed.
They usually choose a crowded place and are there for some hours, sporting the locks of different brands and sizes.
We have this way of earning our livelihood from our fathers and forefathers. And we are sure of our next generation to follow in our footsteps, Yunis said.
PNN
