The Last Of The Knife Sharpeners | 101 Traces

What good is the skill of sharpening a blade if everyone just wants a new knife?

Manu Shaikh roams the bylanes of Mumbai on a cycle, selling his wares and his skills. Take him a dull blade, and in minutes, he will have it razor sharp again. But in an age when cheap Chinese knives have flooded the market, making it cheaper to just buy a new one, this seems like another profession that might be lost to the past.

101 Traces looks at the last of anything: ethnic communities, folk craftsmen, disappearing trades, forgotten people. It sketches portraits of these unique individuals, locked in a battle they cannot win: a battle against the future. Together, they represent the dying whispers of ancient heritage and traditional individuality. As India moves towards homogenized global pop culture, 101 Traces honors the people, the objects, and the skills that connect us to our ancient identity.