The woman of Steel

Chitraratne Kaluaarchchi Hindogama Group Correspondent

The woman who works at the lathe embodies a woman’s spirit and an iron heart. Rough are her hands at the stubborn steel and iron is her spirit when she is battling through the harsh forces of life.

M.A. Premalatha of Anuradhapura is one of a kind; a woman who is armoured with unfaltering courage to secure a better life for her children while setting an example to society.

Premalatha is one among the ordinary women we find everywhere with no blueblood or massive wealth inherited from the family. But she is well-known in her locality and suburbs for her precision and skill in taming steel and she never disappoints anyone coming to get any type of machine fixed or made. “That is what I learnt from my husband, to win the confidence,” the 60-year-old remarks with an approving smile.

Moving with rough work

Premalatha learnt to work at lathe from her husband Daniel Jinadasa. “It is not a very smooth art for a woman. You need a very sharp eye and the ability to move with rough work to achieve precision,” Premalatha observes.

Jinadasa was a skilled mechanic and a metal worker at Punchikawatte when Premalatha first met him. After their marriage they moved to Anuradhapura in 1969 and then she only helped him in work and looked after the family. Jinadasa owned a lathe and earned their living when Premalatha assisted him with her knowledge in science.

“I studied science at school. I was the only student who had a credit pass for physics at school. That knowledge helped me immensely in developing this work later in my life,” she said.

It was not rosy when they started it. They both had to struggle to earn their living as little by little the family became larger with four daughters.

Destiny tried her again when she was given to raise the children and look after the family all by herself with the sudden demise of her husband.

“I was left with no assistance. I did not know what I could do with my children and family,” Premalatha recalled the gray days with no one to turn to.

A couple of months passed without any action. But finally Premaltha decided to pick up the reins for the sake of her family and she moved on the rough roads. Premalatha returned to the lathe and started the work of her husband. Soon she realized she was no stranger to the field as she had been helping Jinadasa with the work. Gradually her soft hands became acquainted with the coarse work which demanded extreme caution and skillfulness.

“A member of the Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs Association in Anuradhapura came to the rescue. On his guidance I became a member of the Association. The helped me learn technological skills and encouraged to carry on the work that my husband had been doing,” she said with gratitude.

Fruits of hard work

The lathe was not in a very good condition. Most parts were broken and worn out. The Association helped Premalatha get a new lathe with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce.

She is now enjoying the fruits of her hard work and mettle with managing her workshop known as Aluthgama Motors located at Dahaiyagama Junction in Anuradhapura. There are technicians and assistants working under her supervision.

Machines and equipment need for agriculture, dairy farming as well as kitchen utensils for mass production such as string hopper machine are made at the shop to suit the requirement of customers. More crowds are attracted to her products as she produces those at low costs and most of the products can be operated manually or without electricity.

Premalatha never hesitates to train the new comers entering the field and even the students of the NAITA(National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority) in Anuradhapura also get trained here.

She recalled with gratitude the assistance and encouragement received from the Enterprise Development Board and all the members of the Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs Association in Anuradhapura to become successful.