Going gold hunting in Kolkata’s dust

kolkata: even 10 years ago they said money flies in the kolkata air. sadly the city is no more an el dorado for fortune seekers. but even so, gold specs are found in kolkata’s dust. to collect these, muhammed hussain, rafiquddin, zahir and many others leave home much before dawn, when it is still dark and it is easy to trace the glitter. they sweep the roads and footpaths of bowbazar and sonapatty at burrabazar carefully, collecting all the dust in pots, made especially for this purpose.after sorting and purifying the crushed gold, they sell the gold filtered from the dust to city jewellers. these people, called newaras or dhuliwalas, come mainly from bihar and up and have been in the profession since childhood. “we have been in the trade for generations. our forefathers came to kolkata in search of jobs and took this up. we have just followed them,� says rafiquddin. the newaras, mainly muslims, live mostly in the slums of park circus, rajabazar, bally and liluah. there are thousands of newaras in the city and the profession is male-dominated. it is a profit-making business and the newaras never think of switching jobs, especially in the festive seasons. “during the wedding season we earn up to rs 5,000 a week,� recollects zahir. the tribe goes through a crisis during monsoons because the rainwater washes away all the gold dust. “these months we work in factories as part-time labourers.� gold dust gets mixed in the dust of bowbazar sonapatty, burrabazar and vivekananda road crossing, three roads of the city teeming with jewellery shops. pulverised gold is found mingled with the dust. at the end of the day, when the jewellery shops clean their floors, they leave the footpaths ornamented with gold dust. there is also a darker side to the glitter. often rich middlemen appear on the scene, buy gold dust from the newaras at a cheap rate and sell them to the jewellers at a much higher price.