Union Budget 2013: Budget means little in FM’s constituency

CHENNAI: The super rich will pay more tax and the middle-class will get relief on an additional lakh for home loans. SUVs will cost more, leather may get cheaper. None of these affect 38-year-old A Michael Raj, who makes traditional Athangudi tiles in Sivaganga, the hometown and constituency of finance minister P Chidambaram.
The Athangudi floor tile, known for its glaze and patterns made entirely by hand, adorns many Chettinad palaces including the ancestral home of the finance minister, but the artisans have been untouched by successive Budgets.Chidambaram may not have done much for them, but it is a matter of pride for Raj that a son of the soil at the Centre. “Whatever Chidambaram does is good,” he says, sitting in a decades-old house that also serves as his workshop in Athangudi, about 65km from Madurai. “So this Budget has to be good.”
In the workshop where five artisans are making tiles as they listen to an old Tamil song on a radio set, Raj is detached from the Centre’s annual exercise. “I watch the news on TV and look for Budget announcements. Irrespective of government policies, my earnings depend on my hard work,” he says. “I think the government would take into account all issues while budgeting. It is a difficult exercise , you know,” he says. On Thursday, he was more worried about the orders he had to complete than the Budget speech. As an afterthought, he admits that government decisions do impact his life. “The government should stop distribution of freebies,” he says. Raj takes exception to toll collected on highways . “I pay road tax for my two-wheeler . Why should I pay the toll?” he says.
Twelve people run tile-making units in Athangudi, and employ 300 people. The tiles are unique because of the fine sand found in the region, which is mixed with cement. “There was demand for the tiles before the advent of mosaic. Many units mushroomed, but had to shut down,” he says. In the last five years, their popularity has increased. The tile makers hope demand will rise if their demand for a geographical indication tag is met.
“This is an art. Each tile is painted by hand. People need at least three years to learn it. Mechanisation is not possible. I would not encourage my sons to do this because of the hard work and low returns ,” Raj says.
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