Gali Loharan, a narrow street that connects Pirwadhai to Dhoke Hassu, Dhoke Mangtal and Railway colonies, houses shops where workers fashion iron into cookware and other household and commercial utensils.

Although non-stick cookware has gained currency, iron utensils are still in use, and readily available in an old part of the city where such items are manufactured.

Iron utensils are commonly used in homes to fry food, as well as for making halwas. Sweet shops also use large woks and griddles – or tawas – to make sweets and boil large quantities of milk.

The process of making such items is extensive, and requires more than seven people for just one portion of a utensil. Although the arrival of machinery to flatten or press the metal has eased some of their work, the workers are still responsible for shaping the utensils.

Workers say the art of making iron cookware goes back centuries.

“We have been making utensils at the bazaar from the 1960s. Most people come for tawas and karahis, but our main customers are owners of sweet shops and hotels,” said Raees Numberdar, the owner of a workshop in Gali Loharan.

He said his father had opened a small shop in the market, which gradually turned into a workshop that employed over 10 people. Mr Numberdar said although the machinery used in the process is helpful, electric power cuts have forced people to work mostly by hand.

He said seven workers are involved in shaping a sheet or iron into a pan, or other utensils. First, iron sheets are procured from the market and cut into smaller portions. Then, a machine is used to press the iron into the shape of a pan.

“Workers use machines and hammers to give the iron its shape,” he said.

Sitting in a corner of the shop, fixing handles onto a wok, Mr Numberdar added that the important thing about iron utensils is the weight, which is how people judge the quality of the item.

“Heavier utensils will absorb heat and cook food better. Workers are also paid according to the weight of the utensil, so if a worker presses and flattens more than 100kg of iron he will earn the daily wage,” he said.

Hussain Ahmed, who has been in the profession for 40 years, said the work is very hard. “Things changed after the arrival of machinery, but we still use hammers to press and flatten the iron,” he said.

“My children did not opt for this profession, as Rs7 per kg is paid for a single piece of a utensil. If I worked 12 hours a day, I would earn Rs700. So it is difficult work,” he said.

Raja Mehrban, a customer, said he was at the market to purchase a tawa and karahi, since iron tawas are better to cook rotis than stainless steel or non-stick pans.

“According to our village traditions, a roti can only be cooked properly on an iron tawa. We also use earthen tawas, but only in the summer,” he said.

Another visitor, Shakeel Siddiqui, said iron karahis are mostly used in the city, and it was widely believed that heavy, iron utensils were better to cook with.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2017