Primeval tools such as fire, the spear and the wheel , enabled homo sapiens to raise himself to be ruler of his surroundings. Throughout history, tools often played a pivotal role in the making and breaking of civilizations.
As a software engineer, I too had to learn and respect the use of tools in my profession. Some tools were absolutely necessary to do my job; others saved time and improved product quality.
For most people the tools of software engineering remain invisible. However, when I returned to Bangladesh after many years abroad, I discovered a very visible set of tools on the sidewalks of Dhaka. Numerous street vendors employ this useful set of tools to earn a livelihood. If they are selling a product, the tools are used to prepare or enhance the product for selling. If they are selling a service, the tools are used to provide that service.
These tools range from mundane (tea-making) to unexpected (fortune-telling parrot); from simple (scale) to complex (making talismanic rings); from precise (shoeshining) to disorganized (stencils for making posters).
Our sidewalk tools are thus a testament to the creativity and resilience of our small business entrepreneurs.
A typewriter is handy for typing up legal documents.
Scales used to sell carrots.
Metals used to make nobogroho talismans from eight metals.
A cart used by vendors to carry and showcase products.
Tools needed to shine a pair of shoes.
Crushers are used for extracting sugarcane juice.
A rickshaw mechanic needs a whole hierarchy of tools.
A parrot tells the fortune by pulling an envelope with a message inside.
Stencils used to make fliers and posters.
A paanwallah has tools to mix paan spices and light the cigarettes.
A tailor's tools.
A teamaker's tools for serving up a refreshing cuppa.
(This series of my photos and the essay appeared in The Daily Star as a full-page "City in Frames" feature on Tuesday May 12, 2009.)
1 comment:
Great subject!
Nice pics
Post a Comment