ਤਰਖਾਣ

Tarkhan (ਤਰਖਾਣ), pronounced tar-khaan, is the Punjabi word for a carpenter, the craftsperson who shapes wood into doors, furniture, tools and roof beams. It is also the name of Punjab's traditional carpenter community, whose Sikh members are widely known as Ramgarhias. Woodworking is one of the oldest named crafts in Indian texts: Vedic-period occupation lists call the carpenter the takshan.

What does tarkhan mean?

In everyday Punjabi, tarkhan simply means carpenter. When a family needs a new door, a bed frame or a plough handle, they call the tarkhan. It is a masculine noun in Punjabi, and its plural is tarkhanan (ਤਰਖਾਣਾਂ). The traditional toolkit of a village tarkhan, the saw, the plane, the chisel and the measuring string, is still a familiar sight in Punjab's towns and mandis.

An old craft with an old name

The carpenter is one of the oldest professions named in Indian literature. Lists of Vedic-period occupations name the takshan as the carpenter, alongside the karmara, the blacksmith, and the tantuvaya, the weaver. The craft has been handed down within families for centuries, and today's Punjabi word carries that same meaning forward: the tarkhan is the woodworker, then as now.

Tarkhan as a community name

The word is also the name of a Punjabi community traditionally linked to carpentry. Tarkhans live across Indian and Pakistani Punjab and in Kashmir, and follow Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. Sikh Tarkhans are commonly known as Ramgarhias, after the eighteenth-century Misl leader Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, himself from a Tarkhan family. The community has long been known for skill with wood and building, and many of its members later moved into engineering, business and public life.

What is the difference between a tarkhan and a mistri?

A tarkhan works with wood; a mistri works with bricks, mortar and building sites. On a house project you may need both: the mistri raises the walls and the tarkhan fits the doors and windows. Both words carry the respect Punjabis give to skilled hands.

Why are Sikh Tarkhans called Ramgarhias?

They take the name from Jassa Singh Ramgarhia (1723 to 1803), the Misl general and builder who came from a Tarkhan family. The name honours his standing, and it is now the common name for Sikh members of the community.