Price of coal has ironers in a tiff

From the archives of All things Ironing - Ironing in India

We have many options in Melbourne when it comes to ironing. There are ironing services, dry cleaners and laundries we can call on to help us. If we are brave, we may venture to the nearest home appliance store and choose one of dozens of models of irons, bring it home, plug it into the power socket and do it our selves.

Running an ironing business in Australia, I often wonder how lucky we are to have a dependable supply of electricity. Well, not so everywhere in our world as a recent story from New Indian Express reminded me.

According to the article by Sruthisagar Yamunan (13/11/2013), ironing shops are being forced to increase their tariffs by some '3 rupees for a single cloth' due to the premium coal price doubling in the last 12 months.

Man ironing clothes with a flat iron on the road from Ranthambore National Park to Karauli

Owners of these shops say they are reeling under heavy losses, owing to high prices of coal over the last few months.

 

According to them, there are two varieties of coal available in the market. There is first grade coal, which produces more heat and requires a lesser quantity, which now costs around 65 rupees per kg. Last year during Deepavali, the same cost 35 to 40 rupees per kg.



The traditional irons are heated by placing burning coal in the iron chamber.

The Dhobhi of Punjab are said to have immigrated
from the ancient city of Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh,
and are now found throughout Punjab.

 The Dhobi community are still involved in the traditional
occupations of washing and ironing of clothes.

 

Handmade Dhobhi iron replica

The original Dhobhi (Washerman) design dates from

the 19th century and is still in popular use to this day in India.

 

The Dhobhi ironers prefer these to the modern electric models for several reasons.

They iron particularly well due to the heavy weight and extremely polished surface

that they acquire over time. They are also portable and do not rely on electricity

which is erratic in most parts of the countryside.

 

The Dhobhi carry these beautiful irons on hand pushed carts as they go

from door to door ironing garments for customers.

“The cost has become double. And the supply is also lower. We are having a hard time with our business,” says Jagir Hussain, who runs an ironing shop in Triplicane. On an average, his shop requires four kilograms of coal.

Low quality coal, usually referred to by these men as kaatu kari, has also seen an appreciation in price with a kilogram now costing 40 rupees from about 25 rupees that it cost last year. Such increases in price of a crucial component of their business means that many such shops have already begun to increase prices. While they had been charging 15 for pressing a saree, some have now increased it by 5 rupees.

But it is not just the coal price that has resulted in higher charges for the service. Shop owners say the labour cost for the person ironing the clothes has touched 700 rupees (AUD 11.50) per day.

 

“Labour is now too costly. Small shops like us are affected even though we employ only one person for the job. I pick up and drop off clothes from the apartments and so I cannot do the ironing. An extra man is a necessity.