“I have been making tandoors for over 22 years now and this is how I feed my family. I don’t have any formal education so making tandoors is the only way I can make a living.

I am quite good at making tandoors, both movable and stationary ones, and it takes me about three to four hours to make a movable tandoor which costs about Rs3,000 to Rs4,000, depending on the client’s specifications. I am from Fatehjang and that is where my wife and three children live. My oldest daughter is 14 and she is followed by two sons who are 10 and 6. They all go to school in Fatehjang.

At times I cannot visit my family back in Fatehjang for six months because I can’t pay for travelling expenses.

The owner of this tandoor shop allows me to sleep here and pays me Rs7,000 a month. I send all that money to my wife and children so they can pay for daily expenses and I just keep enough to pay for my food.

I have had psychological problems since I was a child but there are no medical facilities available. There is no special education for mentally unstable children either which is why most people with these issues cannot get an education. Therefore, they cannot earn well and are exploited. I am also exploited by my employer because of my disability.”

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2016