Roadside Ear Cleaner: yet another age-old Indian institution, in Mumbai

From the archive record

Roadside ear cleaner cleaning the ear for a living. The 'kaan maeliye' in North India and the 'kaan-saaf-wallahs' in Mumbai can be easily spotted because of their distinct head ear, a red scull cap that is rolled up and a small bag that they hang on their shoulders. The ear cleaners mainly carry two 'auzaar' (instruments) a 'chimti' and a 'salaai', which they use for the job. Chimti is a long needle like object, which is slightly flat at one end and this is used to slice through the wax and scoop flakes out of the ears. The salaai is basically used for cleaning the ear and applying oil after the flakes are taken out by the chimti. Before applying the oil, which the ear cleaners claim to be ayurvedic, the ear cleaner stuffs the salaai's end with small amount of cotton and dips the same in t