The Ironing Man of my village.

Murugan annan (brother in Tamil ) has been the ironing man for my village for near about 36 years, starting his work around the 80s in the coastal village of Muzhappilangad in the Kannur District which is bounded by Arabian Sea to the west and Anjirakandy River to the East. Being a native of TamilNadu, he has crossed the Western Ghats to find employment here at Muzhappilangad out of all the places in Kerala.

Murugan Annan loves Muzhappilangad town more than his native and his wife’s native which is Andipatti in Teni district, they both have 6 children who are settled in Tamilnadu and the husband and wife remain in Muzhappilangad visiting family during festivals and other occasions.

Murugan Annan going about his work
The Press
Straightening the Saree
A Saree being pressed
25 Sarees
Posing for the Camera
Murugan Annan goes about his work happily
Years of Process streamlined
Murugan annan says he wants the film washed to have a print for himself

All six children of Murugan Annan has found jobs in Army, Police, State Transport etc but Murugan Annan feels in sync with this north malabar town in kerala. He is around 55 years and goes about his business in a crisp neatly pressed white shirt and white mundu (dhoti) and the most interesting part is he has not been to school yet runs a small scale business with four mobile press stations spread across four places in Muzhappilangad which is incredible.

27 thoughts on “The Ironing Man of my village.”

  4. Beautiful.
    Sometimes people need to see through the perspective of someone else…to realise that no profession is a hindrance to raising a great family.
    Inspiration from you as always, thank you for portraying such stories.

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  8. U never stop surprising me…this is again a masterpiece.We keep looking for something great outside whereas the best moments are small and around us.Murugan annans beautiful life brilliantly portrayed by you is just tip of the iceberg and we all wait for the many more of these posts to come up on our reading panes from you.All the best dear

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    1. Thank you so much sir, you have been one person who have stood like a pillar always encouraging me to try things that i wanted and then top it with kind words and appreciation. Well Murugan Annan is incredible and I don’t think I have done enough justice in portraying but one thing I can be proud of is he simply loved the print of the picture I made for him and has gone to town to frame it. That has been one of the best moments of this entire reportage work we did

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  12. Loved the splash of colour among the black and whites . Enjoyed the back story too. The images and the story married very well. You are growing from strength to strength.well done .

    Liked by 1 person

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