Pindi’s very own ‘iron-man’

The ironing machine is an essential household item which serves as a basic necessity in every home. However, Sher Muhammad of Patiala still runs his business by taking it upon himself to iron people’s clothes with his hand-crafted coal-powered iron at a nominal fee.

It can be said that iron plays an important role in shaping people’s personality and surely, no one prefers to leave the house wearing clothes lined with creases. However, ironing can be a time-consuming task that may prove a challenge, especially in the case of smoothing out clothes fashioned from different kinds of fabric.

This is where Sher Muhammad comes in. A 75-year-old man from Patiala near Saidpuri Gate – the densest area of Rawalpindi – makes both ends meet by using a charcoal iron to provide ironing services to locals of the area and has been doing so for the past 70 years.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Sher Muhammad said “Our forefathers belong to Patiala, and we used to live in Saidpuri Gate before Pakistan was founded.”

He says before the creation of Pakistan, Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims were living happily in one neighbourhood. “When the movement for Pakistan started, the desire for a separate homeland arose in our hearts. I participated in the movement,” he elaborated while sharing his life story.

Sher Muhammad explained that in the earlier days Kartarpura, Saidpuri Gate, Bhapara Bazaar, Haripur, and Bagh Sardaran were areas within old Rawalpindi that had central status. In these areas, resided the famous traders.

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Hindu and Sikh traders mostly wore white clothes and shawls and warm woollen clothes in the winter, while women used to wear silk, banarsi and cotton sarees. He said, “When I started my service, I used to iron shalwar kameez for one rupee.”

My iron was made of a block of iron worth Rs200, he said adding that irons like these are no longer manufactured and coal has also become expensive. “Now I charge Rs100 to iron a pair of shalwar kameez. I iron the clothes of twenty-five houses in the neighbourhood and I have raised my children with the help of this iron,” he exclaimed.

Sher Muhammad has three children. His eldest son has died, while two of his children work hard to run the household. His children are the ones who pay the ironing store’s rent which costs Rs5,000 per month.

In the past, clothes were ironed on special occasions such as Eid or other festivals. However, people are now in the habit of regularly ironing clothes and they prefer to use an ironing machine made of iron. The main reason for this is that the weight of a machine made of iron helps press and smooth out fabric so that it gives the cloth a sheen of its own.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2024.