Rajendra Sunar walks about a kilometer to his metal workshop most mornings after breakfast at home. His workshop consists of a fire pit made from a few bricks and a fan made from an old bicycle wheel. He made this fan himself and uses it to increase the temperature of his fire when he is heating the metals. The workshop is covered by a thatched roof supported by four wooden poles.

Rajendra is of the Sunar Caste. Traditionally the Sunars are goldsmiths. When asked whether he also works with gold, Rajendra smiles and asks how much gold we have seen in the area. In fact there is none, Rajendra’s workshop is located at Kanthapur Chowk, a small collection of shops located along the highway to Guleriya city. It is an area inhabited almost entirely by farmers and day laborers, and so Rajendra’s work consists mostly of fixing and making agricultural tools.

Rajendra learned how to be a blacksmith from his father. His father also taught him carpentry, and while all of Rajendra’s brothers chose to be carpenters, Rajendra chose to be a blacksmith. When there is no business at his metal workshop Rajendra also makes windows and doors for extra income. Just as he learned his trade from his Father, Rajendra’s sons will learn from him. While they are in school now, Rajendra hopes that as he saves money and improves his equipment his sons will take a greater interest in metal work.

Rajendra is well into his fifties and still working eight to ten hours a day, but you can see from his eyes that he is a happy man. “I have been lucky” he tells his listeners. He has a house, three healthy children and a steady source of income. “If you look around”, Rajendra says, “you can find so many people who work harder and have less than I do. I learned a skill that is always needed here so I will never be without work.” And so today Rajendra is sitting at his workshop, as he has been for more than thirty years, and as he will be for years to come.