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Raj
Kumar Lama
VSBK Fire Master |
Raj Kumar Lama, has
a tale to tell. Now working as fire master with Satyanarayan
Brick Kiln (SBK) in Imadol, Lalitpur, he has learned a
lot. One can say his tale is closely linked with the evolution
of brick kilns and carpet weaving. Oh no, he also once
earned his living as a utility worker at a nondescript
city restaurant. But that was long ago indeed.
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He had set off from Belghari
village in Makwanpur district at the tender age
of 11. He says it was his elder brother who brought
him to the capital since the stepmother used to
treat him badly. The father could not prevail
on the mother and thus have the children well
looked after.
“I began as a utility worker in a restaurant
for a year. Then I joined a carpet weaving unit
in Satdobato in Lagankhel,” Raj Kumar Lama
says reflecting on his life. Close eye contact
suggests life perhaps has been a tough journey
for him so far.
Much like the job of a utility worker, the job
of carpet weaver did not last much. He says the
problem was the sub-contractors involved short-changed
the weavers. “I still remember how difficult
it is to work at carpet weaving units. The problem
is that wages are not paid regularly. Contractors
are too stingy,” Raj Kumar Lama says. But
he has left those years behind by 15 years now.
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He had yet another job
change when he started working at a brick kiln in Lalitpur.
That was after giving up the job of the utility worker
one fine morning. The brick kiln belonged to Gautam Maharjan.
He recollects his early years as a laborer at a traditional
brick kiln and says that his job was to mould green bricks
and tend the fire. It certainly was a tough task.
“I worked for three years as
a laborer. Then I fled to the Indian city of Kanpur.
I went there with people who already worked there. They
felt more at home there than here,” Raj Kumar Lama
says. He says that workers go out of the country and
come back with the same frequency.
His stay in the Indian industrial
city of Kanpur lasted too long in comparison. “I
am surprised that I had spent seven years there. I worked
as furnace assistant in a plant which produced catcheu,”
says Lama. (Catcheu paste is used in pan chewed by many.)
He says he enjoyed working there, “but felt homesick
and came back one day.”
Time had come for yet another job change for Raj Kumar
Lama after seven years. He says he was 21-years old
when he left Kanpur to come to Kathmandu. He had decided
that he should return to the same place where he molded
green bricks and tended fire seven years ago. He considers
the outskirt of Lalitpur as his second home.
When Raj Kumar Lama came back, he
found changes taking place in brick kilns. “The
main change was laborers were wearing masks. They said
environmental activists were distributing these things,”
Raj Kumar Lama says by expressing happiness. Although
he has a very sketchy view of the issues involved, he
expresses happiness at whatever change is taking place
ever since.
“Brick kiln workers are happy
now. Masks, helmets and gloves are becoming common.
This brick kiln (Satyanarayan) has changed things for
us,” Raj Kumar Lama further says. He expressed
pride at the fact that he works as fire master at Satyanarayan
Brick Kiln, which has switched over to Vertical Shaft
Brick Kiln (VSBK) technology. For him, Rs.6000 a month
is enough to take care of two minors and a wife. Life
was never so rosy for him.
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