The man in the picture, K Uthamakumaran, a 34-year-old man hails from the malai kuruvar tribal community. He worked hard to become an advocate but due to the pandemic, he is now forced to give up on his dreams and go back to making bamboo baskets, his traditional job.
He completed his law graduation in 2010 and has been practicing at the Pattukottai court in Thanjavur. However, he has not been able to earn anything over the past two months since all the courts were closed during the lockdown. Even has last bit of savings, Rs 10,000 got over and he was left with nothing by the end of May.
He stays along with his wife and seven- year old son in Peravurani Taluk. “Since I had to eke out a living, I was ready to do any work. But the only other work I know was my ancestral vocation of weaving baskets from wild date palm fronds. After completing Class XII, I was helping my father Kalimuthu in the business in the business as it was my father’s source of income. So, I started to make baskets,” he told the Times of India.
According to his statement, normally a basket is sold at Rs 100 or 120. If two people are engaged in the business, they can make 12 baskets within a week and earn Rs 1,200 to Rs 1500. However, he admits that is not enough to run the family and make ends meet.
Almost 2 lakh malai kuravars live across the state and they either weave baskets or sharpen grinder stones to make a living out of it.
“The government must provide some financial assistance to the community,” He added.
Many people have been forced to lose their jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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