Sticking to traditions in the modern times:

Khuda Bakhsh laments the change in living styles

Khuda Bakhsh, in his 70s is a living example of hard work and is in fact determination personified. He keeps on wandering throughout the day in the streets of Rawalpindi. A bed weaver by profession who makes traditional beds using the old technique of using willow-skin to transform the skeleton of wood or metal into a soothing bed, Khuda Bakhsh is a self made man.

Talking to INFN, he told that he had been attached to this profession for many a year. He lamented the fact that the people are no more interested in getting their beds made in the traditional way, rather they prefer to buy modern style bedding and get them ready-made from the market.

“The real experience of sleep you get on the traditional beds made of ‘wan’ is impossible to be had on the modern day beds. Besides the traditional beds are good for human health as air can get to your body through pores left by us in the hand-made beds. On the other hand, the modern day beds have no such arrangement for the fresh air to reach human body and it is too hot to sleep on these beds especially in summers,” he argued.

He belongs to district Mianwali and has too kids who are happily married. After the death of his wife, he came to Rawalpindi and started working as a bed-weaver and then there was no looking back.

“I have two sons who are leading a happy and prosperous marital life. I never depended on them. I never wish to do so in future too. I believe in making my livelihood with the sweat of my brow and I want to be a giving hand rather than becoming a receiving one,” said Khuda Bakhsh philosophically.

The self made man is not a great earner as he told that he can hardly manage to get Rs 200 to 300 a day. “I can hardly earn 300 a day as I charge Rs 150 for weaving a single bed,” he told regretting that modernization and fashion mania has damaged his profession to a great extent.