'I was happier when I was earning Rs 15 a day'

Today: Abdul Nabi, who has been cleaning people's ears for 40 years in Mumbai.

When he started out, he used to charge 1 anna per person; now he charges Rs 20. He never asks his customers their names or what they do and is among the last of a dying profession. I have been cleaning ears in Mumbai for 40 years. I have been sitting in this place at the Bandra talao all my working life.

Those days the talao was very dirty. It was full of weeds. You could hardly see the water. The poor used it as a public toilet. Early morning the stink was unbearable. What to do? We still sat here.

Much later Ramdas Naik (the BJP MLA who was murdered in 1994) got it cleaned. Now they have removed all the dirt in the water. They have tiled the place. The entire area is protected by a grill so people cannot dirty it.

When I first started out we used to charge 1 anna for one person. Now we charge Rs 20. Those days we made five rupees a day which worked out to Rs 150 a month. (Just then a customer arrives and he asks us to excuse him).

My elder brother also cleans ears (he was sitting next to him, busy with a customer).

I remember those days when I used to earn fifteen rupees a day. It was enough. Those were days when everything was cheap.

Now I earn Rs 300 to 400 every day. I was happier when I was earning Rs 15 a day. I could save Rs 10 every day. Now I cannot save anything even when I earn Rs 400 a day. It doesn't last, food items have become so expensive.

 

IMAGE: Abdul Nabi works all days, including festivals. Much has changed around him in these 40 years, he says.

I have lots of regular customers. Some have been coming to me for 20 years. I never ask them their names or what they do.

The rich and the poor come to me.

I don't think this profession will be around for more than ten years. After that people will go to doctors to get their ears cleaned.