Wood has been used for making household items for centuries. Thanks to the craftsmen, the art has survived to this day.

Though at present furniture made of wrought iron, cane, plastic and other material are available in the market, wooden furniture is still the most popular choice for most citizens.

Carved wood items and furniture like coffee tables, chairs, settees, sideboards, mirror frames, tables, lampshades, bed sets, sofas and others reflect the artwork of the region.

In the backyard of the city, there is a large market spreading into Amarpura, Band Khana Road, Chah Sultan, Kuri Road and Chaklala Road where artisans can be seen making furniture from raw wood.

Due to an increase in the demand of wooden furniture, small workshops have been established in every part of the city but this furniture market is the main centre where carpenters and woodcarvers work. A lot of hard work is put into by craftsmen who turn raw wood into furniture.

Despite arrival of machines and new technologies, these carpenters work from dawn to dusk even in harsh weather to eke out a livelihood.

Making furniture is a long process and it takes more than five steps to give a proper shape to wood.

After cutting a trunk into small pieces, the work of a carpenter begins.

The wood passes to the machine shop where it is sawed to different sizes, molded, grooved or rebated as required.Mohammad Aslam, who works at a workshop, said he wakes up early in the morning and reaches the workshop. Aslam, 24, has to polish the furniture with his hands instead of using any machine.

“My work is difficult for others but not for me as it is my routine,” he said.

He said mostly ready made wood furniture arrived from Chiniot, a city near Jhang which is known for wood carving.

He said polish work was difficult as it was done only under the sunshine, not in a shade.

Nisar Ahmed, a carpenter, said machines had made the work easy besides helping maintain quality of the product.

He said though people preferred to buy solid things there were many who used furniture made of cardboard.

“A few years ago, we daily sold furniture but at present mostly people come and ask prices and go away. After a week or two there are a few customers who purchase some furniture,” he said.

He said prices of carved wooden furniture had increased as workers done all the work with their hands without using machinery and it took days to complete chairs, beds, sofa sets etc.

All Pakistan Furniture Association President Taj Abbasi said the furniture market in Rawalpindi was a small industry and it spread over three to four roads and adjoining localities.

There are more than 2,500 to 3,000 workshops and showrooms. These also create problems such as traffic rush, pollution and parking issues.

“We have suggested to the government to shift the market out of the city. We also request the government to allocate a space along the proposed Ring Road and provide 5,000 plots on easy installments to the owners of the workshops and showrooms.” He said the government had imposed 17 per cent sales tax on furniture makers and sellers which was illogical as mostly people belonging to the middle class were in the business and sold furniture to the middle class and poor people, especially on wedding of their daughters and sisters.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2020