Ear Cleaners of Old Delhi: A Mughal-Era Tradition on Verge of Extinction

Modern methods and a relatively low trust among people are causing a drop in customers for ear cleaners.

This vocation of ear cleaning has been passed down several generations.

(Photo: Ribhu Chatterjee/The Quint)

Ear cleaners in Old Delhi can be easily spotted from a distance, thanks to their red skull caps and small bags that hold their special gear. A vocation passed down several generations, the 'Laal Topiwales' have existed since the Mughal era. But ear cleaners tell The Quint that the profession is losing its sheen with the advent of modern technique resulting in increasingly low demand from customers. Yet, they don't want to look for alternative jobs. 

Mohammad Salman has been working as an ear cleaner for seven years in Chandni Chowk. A resident of Madhya Pradesh's Bajrangpura, he learnt this art from his father. 

Salman puts an ear drop in a boy's ear to loosen the wax before cleaning it. 

He works from 9 am to 6 pm – and manages to earn around Rs 500 per day.

Typically, ear cleaners use a 'chimti' (prong) to scrape away the wax. Then, they wrap a 'silaai' (sharp steel needle) in cotton and use it to oil the interiors of the ear.

An ear cleaner closes the lid of a bottle usually containing mustard oil.

An ear cleaner uses a 'silai' to oil the insides of an old man's ear. 

They usually tuck the 'silai' in their caps while they roam the streets of Old Delhi looking for customers.

Since the age of 15, Mohammed Raees, now 50, has been an ear cleaner. He came to Old Delhi from Haryana's Faridabad in 2000 – and has since been living with his cousin. 

Raees can be seen cleaning a customer's ear in front of Delhi's Jama Masjid. He charges Rs 40 per customer – and gets about 10 customers a day.  

Raees has no complaints despite a drop in demand for his work. "Sab Allah ki den hai aur main khush hoon isme" (Everything is a gift of God and I am happy with what I make), he tells The Quint. 

Mohammed Imran cleans a customer's ear in Chawri Bazar. 

"It's a family business for me," he tells The Quint. Though his family lives in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad, he lives here to continue the tradition. He learnt the 'art' from his father and brother.

Imran has many regular customers in Chawri Bazar. One of them is Renu, who has been coming to him since a bindi "got stuck" inside her son's ear – and Imran's father helped remove it. 

Imran, who makes roughly Rs 500 a day, cleans the ears of his friend Nadim, a fruit-seller in the Chawri Bazaar area. 

The 'Laal Topiwales' can be spotted in the Jama Masjid, Chandni Chowk, and Chawri Bazar areas of Old Delhi.