Ironing out the creases of life day in, day out

Dedicated ironing service workers in Chennai share their stories of hard work, family tradition, and hopes for the future.

“There’s no leave in the profession. Who can afford to take leave? Who would feed us otherwise? Not one person would give us ₹10 to even survive,” says B. Manickam, who has been offering ironing service at Anna Nagar for the past 40 years.

The 75-year-old started it out to feed his family. Mountains of clothes and bags surround his cart as he picks up his iron box with coals to move over the clothes. He swiftly folds the clothes, goes over one side and flips to the other side of the shirt to finish it. Then, he folds it neatly before stacking it with a pair of pants. “It gives a sense of purpose when you are self-employed,” he says. One of the few unique things in Chennai has been these workers stationed at every corner of the street. On a sliding scale of ₹50 per clothing, they would make your clothes wrinkle-free and office-ready.

Speaking about the origins of his business, V. Kumar, 40, says he took over the ironing cart from his father about 30 years ago. “It’s been in the family for over 40 years. We moved to Chennai from Madurai in the 1970s and got a cart with an iron box and began the business. My father and my uncles are all in this business. When we began, we would just take the cart to every building, asking for clothes, and move around. Only now has it evolved to be a stationary job,” he said.

Whether it is rain or the sweltering heat, they show up for work. “There used to be a union for us a few years ago and we were forced to take leave on Fridays. But some would not follow the rule as they did not think rest was necessary in this profession. However, the union is back and now we make sure to take two days’ off,” Kumar says.

Manickam has bought a wide umbrella from a flower-seller. With his son working and his daughter married, this work is the only purpose of his life. “I do not miss a day. I start my work at 7 a.m. and continue till 7 p.m. Some days, I wrap up early, but I hang around here,” he says.

Kumar, his son and his wife have watched the area grow as they widened their client base. “It was just trees, and it was nice to walk around and work. In this heat, the long hours of standing and heavy iron box have caused a chronic shoulder pain,” he says.

Pointing to how the new laundry business offers ironing service, he says the business suffers with swanky establishments offering various services. “We applied for loans under PM SVANidhi during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the process was too tedious, so we gave up,” he says. The scheme gives licensed street vendors a loan of ₹10,000, with a 7% subsidy cashback. Kumar, however, hopes that his children don’t take up the profession. “While I picked it up out of necessity, I hope they study further and get good jobs in companies and wouldn’t have to stand in the sun,” he says. But what about the cart? “I’ll give it to someone in the family; after all, three generations made a living out of it, and the cart cannot go to the dump,” he says.