“I have learnt the skill of tailoring from my father and he picked it from his father. I am 58 and I continue to use the same sewing machines, Singer, Vimal and Usha, which were all bought by my father. If there is a problem, I have a person who comes here to repair it for me.

Yes, there have been many changes in the field of tailoring and fashion in the recent past. But most of my time is spent on stitching shirts, suits and trousers. When I started my career as a tailor, we used to get rice grains and wheat instead of money as compensation for our work. That was the culture back then in most regions of India.

How much I earn depends on the season. Till a few years ago, June and July were the months when schools reopened and we used to work tirelessly for 17 hours a day. Even weddings and festival seasons were busy times in the past. But now, because of the ongoing pandemic situation, there aren’t many orders.

My peak period is the festival season from August to December. I had to work around the clock to complete the orders. But I am not sure if I would get that much of a workload now. We have been living in Mannevaru Turkapally since my father’s time. I have married my only daughter and she’s well settled in Mumbai. My eldest son is working in a Pharma Company and my younger son is pursuing his MBA.

We have all practised the profession traditionally but my children aren’t willing to take up our community profession. I cannot force them but I just hope they could manage the shop along with their other professional commitments. Let’s see what the Almighty has in store for us in the future.”