LIFE IN A BRICKYARD

Even A Brick Wants To Be Something

~ Louis Kahn

From ancient times, bricks have been an essential part of architecture as bricks in different forms were used to build monuments, sculptures, etc in and around the world. Mostly the use of brick structure was started by Nepalese and later on it was adopted by other countries. In India, the Mughal emperor started the use of bricks (Lahori Bricks) and gradually it spread. Since the labor required in the making of bricks need not be skilled thus it started attracting the local people. With the increase of urbanization, the use of bricks also rose along with the coming of new varients. Kilns were established and migrant laborers started pouring in from discrete areas.

This photo story is based on the life of the workers of the brickyards. Taking pictures & covering few brick kilns (Ashok Bhata, PNS Bricks, Nadia bricks Thanks Bhata; Bhata is the Bengali word for brick kiln), I gathered that the mainly they are emigrant and usually they come when the season starts, i.e from September to May (it ends just before monsoon starts). They set up their local mud house in the area and starts working under a minimum wage rate of Rs 500 per day. They work in shifts, i.e, 6 am to 9 am and 2 pm to 6 pm. The entire brick-making procedure starts from bringing in the mud (clay soil) from river banks (due to which many of the kilns are situated near the river banks) and is processed to make it granules free. It is usually bought in by a boat or trucks. It is then given a shape by a shaper and is dried under the sun. The toughest work starts from here, the dried bricks are put into a chimney built on a sandpit burning at 1000-1500 ℃ and the workers have to continuously put coal in that chimney from a small metal hole. Once done the fire is ceased by the sand and they have to break the entire sand structure to bring out the prepared bricks. The sandpit needs to be broken carefully as it may damage the bricks and it produces a huge amount of dust which is harmful to people working there. The bricks damaged are turned into powder and are resued. The bricks are now ready to be exported, which is usually done by the trucks. Each process has its workforce, who only does that work. The process is continuous because the entire sandpit has to be built again for the next lot.

The point which struck me more that they are still a slave to the kiln owners and they are paid on daily wages, so if they miss a day it would a great loss for them. The entire family of the toilers does the job (children to women)as that could help them to earn more. The children are also now accustomed to such life. Several such families are doing this work. I found out that they have made their colony adjacent to the kiln so that it is easily reachable for them. In the current pandemic situation, their life is more ruined as the yard owners are not allowing all to work thus one has to do multiple jobs or has to leave.

I wanted people to know that where one part is enjoying so much poshness and luxury while the makers of our house are living such kind of life. I feel that the wage rate should be increased along with other benefits that should be provided to them for the effort they give. The owners are making lakhs while the makers are in hundreds. The gap is huge but still can be covered if small efforts are done.