Fifty-five-year-old Manzoor Dar is reviving the traditional water mill ‘Aab-e-Gratte’ for survival. Despite modern technology, Manzoor says, brands and customers prefer his mill’s flour over the marketed ones.
In Kashmir Valley, the traditional water mill, known as “Aab-e-Gratte”, is an age-old method of grinding wheat, corn and other grains into flour. Despite the introduction of contemporary technology in grist mills, Manzoor Ahmed Dar has managed to revive the water mill in the Badipora Chadora area of Budgam district in central Kashmir.
The age-old grinding unit has become a source of income for the 55-year-old and his family since he took over the reins of the mill from his grandfather. Dar has a master’s degree in Political Science:
“I struggled to make inroads in the employment sector in job starving place like Kashmir and realising the needs I joined my grandfather’s business.”
He stated that joining his grandfather’s business was healing for him to come out of psychological trauma. “Now I’m with this business I’m happy with the profession, I earn good money out of the business, more importantly, the occupancy has helped to evade stress,” Dar said.
Manzoor said that his family is associated with this business for a long time since he was a child and has been visiting the mill. The people in the area prefer the flour of this age-old flour mill, he said, “People in and around the area prefer the flour of our mill despite a number of flour brands available in the market”.
“My sales are showing positively increasing trends and I am hopeful of witnessing more sales in the times to come and a sustained livelihood,” he added.