Diana Markozashvili

INDIA | Monday, 14 January 2013 | Views [723] | View Smaller Image

The ear cleaner. Another traditional trade in India is the ear cleaner. Usually seen walking along roads wielding a box with “Ear cleaner” written on it, they can also be found sitting offering their services in public places. It is a low-paid job and most ear cleaners live in poverty unless they are good at swindling unknowing tourists for extra rupees. In the photo: this ear cleaner lives and works on the bus stand in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The inscription on the certificate that he showed me reads: “Certified that Shri Ramesh Chand, Jagner Road, Agra, ear cleaner at Idgah Bus Station has been working for about 15 years. He is a good worker”; signature; stamp.

Tags: the ear cleaner

The slaughterer.
Not all Hindus are vegetarians, and the most common source of meat in India is chicken. In the meat markets, the live birds are slaughtered after being sold by weight. Since the vast majority of workers in these markets are Muslim, they follow the requirements of their religion and make the meat Halal by cutting the chicken’s throat and leaving it to exsanguinate (bleed to death) in an adjacent barrel. Although this is often described as the most humane form of slaughter, causing a rapid loss of blood pressure in the brain and an immediate loss of consciousness, each bird goes through vigorous convulsions in the barrel for about two minutes following the fatal cut. This is probably just reflexive action of the spinal cord. In the photo: this slaughterer, a master of his craft, is very familiar with his fatal knife. Market place of Bhubaneswar, Orissa.

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The cooks.
In a kitchen near a big mosque, cooks prepare food for charitable distribution among the local poor and needy in Srinagar, and among visitors to the mosque. During Ramadan everybody coming to the mosque is entitled to food and water. Even we, simple European tourists, were welcomed inside and treated with delicious Kashmiri tea made with milk and saffron. In exchange for their hard work, the cooks get people’s smiles and appreciation. It is a true volunteer’s job. India may be a poor country, where people have many difficulties, but their existence is brightened by the unity, friendship and humanity that come to the fore in their system of life priorities.

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Diana Markozashvili

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