Blacksmiths have no time to breathe ahead of Eid

Blacksmiths in Rajshahi are now busy catering to the huge demand for knives, machetes and choppers on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha. The blacksmiths in the city said that finding a butcher on the first two days of Eid is a very difficult task and, so, people prefer to sacrifice animals themselves to follow the Sunnah and avoid inconvenience. “People buy the required tools for sacrificing animals, while many get their old knives and choppers sharpened. That is why, we expect higher sales of our products ahead of Eid,” said Mohammad Tareque, a blacksmith in Sagarpara Bottola area of the city.
There are more than 100 groups of blacksmiths across the district engaged in this ancestral profession. “Before Eid-ul-Azha, we do not even have the time to breathe, whereas we stay almost jobless for the rest of the year,” said another blacksmith Minarul Islam. “Although there are wholesale buyers of knives and other slaughtering tools all the year round, retail buyers swarm to us during Eid-ul-Azha,” he added. Shukur Ali, a professional butcher with a meat shop in the city’s New Market area, said he came to buy several sharp tools as he had recruited some extra hands to work with him ahead of Eid. Minarul further said people mostly buy a set consisting of one big knife to slaughter an animal, one small one to take off the skin and a chopper to
cut the meat into pieces. The prices of these knives and choppers vary, according to the quality and quantity of the iron, he added. At present, ‘chapatis’ are selling at Tk. 400 to Tk. 1200 a piece, butcher knives at Tk. 250 to Tk. 800, small knives at Tk. 50 to Tk. 300 and cleavers at Tk. 250 to Tk. 500 each. Apart from the blacksmiths, knife sharpeners in the city, too, are enjoying brisk business during the festive season, as they roam around the city soliciting customers. Moreover, some shops adjacent to the blacksmiths’ workshops sell tree trunks, which are used to chop big pieces of meat and bone, at Tk. 250 to Tk. 1,500 per piece. These shops are mostly located in New Market, Sagarpara, Kumarpara, Shalbangan, Sopura, Talaimari and Laxmipur areas of the city.

Blacksmiths have no time to breathe ahead of Eid

Blacksmiths in Rajshahi are now busy catering to the huge demand for knives, machetes and choppers on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha. The blacksmiths in the city said that finding a butcher on the first two days of Eid is a very difficult task and, so, people prefer to sacrifice animals themselves to follow the Sunnah and avoid inconvenience. People buy the required tools for sacrificing animals, while many get their old knives and choppers sharpened. That is why, we expect higher sales of our products ahead of Eid, said Mohammad Tareque, a blacksmith in Sagarpara Bottola area of the city. There are more than 100 groups of blacksmiths across the district engaged in this ancestral profession. Before Eid-ul-Azha, we do not even have the time to breathe, whereas we stay almost jobless for the rest of the year, said another blacksmith Minarul Islam. Although there are wholesale buyers of knives and other slaughtering tools all the year round, retail buyers swarm to us during Eid-ul-Azha, he added. Shukur Ali, a professional butcher with a meat shop in the citys New Market area, said he came to buy several sharp tools as he had recruited some extra hands to work with him ahead of Eid. Minarul further said people mostly buy a set consisting of one big knife to slaughter an animal, one small one to take off the skin and a chopper to cut the meat into pieces. The prices of these knives and choppers vary, according to the quality and quantity of the iron, he added. At present, chapatis are selling at Tk. 400 to Tk. 1200 a piece, butcher knives at Tk. 250 to Tk. 800, small knives at Tk. 50 to Tk. 300 and cleavers at Tk. 250 to Tk. 500 each. Apart from the blacksmiths, knife sharpeners in the city, too, are enjoying brisk business during the festive season, as they roam around the city soliciting customers. Moreover, some shops adjacent to the blacksmiths workshops sell tree trunks, which are used to chop big pieces of meat and bone, at Tk. 250 to Tk. 1,500 per piece. These shops are mostly located in New Market, Sagarpara, Kumarpara, Shalbangan, Sopura, Talaimari and Laxmipur areas of the city.