Yangerla Jamir runs a centre in Kohima town where she repairs gas stoves, cylinders and other kitchen utilities and at the same time provides free training to persons interested in repairing. (Morung Photo)
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The heart(h)warming story of Yangerla Jamir
Morung Express Feature
Kohima | March 8
“There were some occasions when men will watch me repair and then they will take a step back and say they are embarrassed of themselves,” laughs 49 years old Yangerla Jamir, while sharing her experiences of repairing gas stoves and gas cylinders in Nagaland.
Jamir, who has been in this line of work for 20 years now, runs a centre in Kohima town where she repairs gas stoves, cylinders and other kitchen utilities and at the same time provides free training to persons interested in repairing.
“It is a God-given talent,” says Yangerla mentioning that she had a knack for repairing even before undergoing training in Guwahati in 1990s. She also recalls how, in her training in Guwahati, she ended up teaching the trainees on many occasions.
Returning to Nagaland, she opened her first store in the ground floor of Hotel Pine, Kohima in 1997. “The starting was hard,” Yangerla recalls. During the initial years of opening up the center, she had to pay security deposit besides the monthly rent.
On her present store/centre (Kohima LPG Agro Utilities Center), a cubicle sized room where she does all the repairing works as well as sells baking utilities, Yangerla says, “It started with a dream.”
Narrating her dream which she had during her stay in a ‘prayer house,’ Yangerla mentioned that in her dream she saw her store with many shoes and chappals displayed in the front door. “I kept thinking about the dream and felt that shoes and chappals are a necessity for any person. No one walks out of their house without shoes or chappals and I realized, my profession must be a necessity, something that people needs. It is dirty work but it is an essential in all our homes everyday” she states.
Every day, she opens her store at 8 am and works till 5 or 6 pm. “When I was younger, I used to open at 7 am,” she informs.
Yangerla’s husband is also in the same profession besides being an electrician. Her son is in Standard 8 in Sainik School, Punglwa. She earns not less than Rs 3000 on a daily basis. Apart from running the store, she repairs cookers, stoves, gas cylinders and high pressure stoves in schools, colleges, hotels and the army camp in Kohima.
“I don’t feel ashamed of this job. Nagas feel embarrassed to work like this. If people are interested, they can come and learn anytime,” she states. Both locals and non-locals get trained from her store for free. “Even girls come to learn. If they put their heart in the job, they learn in a week. Some of them have also gone back to their villages and are doing most of the repairing there,” she informs.
“I am getting old and my eyesight is also not that good now. I keep wishing if I could find more people in this profession. I want to pass on this skill to others too,” expresses Yangerla, who feels that her work is also a service to God and to people.
