Danglers

I have never worn anything which dangles from my ears. It has always been the good old gold studs for me. The nearest I got to wearing something that dangles were 'jimikis' , which I would have worn maximum ten times. So I have been 'dangler challenged' all these years.
I got about rectifying matters. Actually it was by an accident that I got to pick up some danglers from a roadside shop the other day. We were looking for some change and decided to raid the pavement shops. I decided I wanted some bindis, headbands, safety pins, hairpins and what not; the usual stuff really. And there were a couple of ladies buying fancy danglers and one of them was trying them out. On an impulse I picked up a couple of them. I came home and immediately checked them out. They were looking quite good on me.Actually I was seeing a more carefree and jolly me there in the mirror! So now I am dangler-infatuated! Never mind that when I tried to put on my gold earring I had quite a difficult time!
Nowadays we see earrings (read danglers!) aggressively competing with neckwear. The danglers come all the way up to the shoulder and also sit pretty on the chest. And they are so jazzy and so HUGE. They do look pretty alright, no two opinions about that. It is no longer earring. It is today's fashion statement that there should be only a single piece of jewellery on your person, and that should be so stunning, that anything else would only be a distraction.
It was my niece who introduced 'danglers' into my vocabulary. And it was a roadside shop which helped me buy one.

tailors, past and present continuous

I had briefly lost faith in tailors and switched to ready made blouses. I was introduced to 'athreya' readymade garments by niru and I was hooked on. It was painstaking to go to this shop which was way beyond my 'pettai' and also quite outside our usual forays in the city. But then style and fashion dont come easy.This shop used to have designer blouses when they were not very common. No, dont get me wrong thinking it has any connection to khushboo's wardrobe and jackpot programme.It used to be stitched just right and they had a good collection. I used to pile up sarees and do a wholesale purchase.It became a biannual ritual for me.
But then, my niece su, introduced me to tailors in our neighbourhood. She is very fussy and if a tailor makes it to her grade, then it is fine with me. So it was Aartline tailors for some time .It was quite inconvenient to reach, in a small gully just off adyar signal.They believed in order numbers and mobile contacts. Their workmanship was very good. Waiting for my clothes to be delivered became a learning experience for me. I learnt that the pullus of embroidered sarees need to have a netting cloth stitched on the underside. How i wish i had known earlier, many of my embroidery sarees would not have caught the sharp edges of chairs and tables that my pullav would sweep across. I got introduced to choosing my salwar designs from a fancy book that he displayed. But then on one occasion i had to make three trips for collecting an urgent blouse and that did it. Days of Aartline tailor was over for me.
Asiatac on vannanthurai took its place soon enough. It was a tiny shop and had a mezannine floor with the machines hammering away. Not the best place you would want to spend your spare time; but then it was on the way to office( and duly recommended by su again), so that was just fine.But he never EVER had the clothes ready on the due date.I ignored it for a while, but after sometime it became intolerably late; he would be searching for my bundle with no clue as to where it was.So that sealed the issue. I was busy looking elsewhere.And spotted a brand new shop just across the colony on MG road. He was just setting up his shop and i was perhaps his seventh customer. I was received very well. But he wanted 10 days for stitching a blouse, which i wanted to wear the next day!He said he is yet to set up his shop and has to get it from TNagar. But ten days? No way.
This is the story so far, upto colourstitch tailors. They are very near home and have a good ambience and priced slightly high. But somehow one felt good going there and they also stich as per specifications. When my churidar set was delayed by two days, I told the owner of the shop tailor to watch out, or else i will shift my business elsewhere. He said if you want delivery on time, then you have to forever keep shifting, because tailors dont stick around and keep disappearing often, so we are stuck with delays.
Attrition in the unorganised sector; I know to stich , so is this time to go back to 'tan kaiye tanaku udavi' my mother's abiding motto in life?

Story of tailors, past and present continuous

I am constantly on the lookout for the perfect tailor. Yes, this is a quest that has been on since i remember. It is also an intellectual challenge; I seem to have hit the perfect tailor and before long, I am sure that I have made a terrible mistake. Is it that I do not communicate clearly and precisely to the tailor or that the tailors are pre programmed to do their own thing, irrespective of instructions given; is it their professional pride or artistic streak which makes them deviate and hand in their unique style and stamp on my clothes?

Let me start the long story. I remember T N P rao tailors on Selaiyur Road. We patronised him throughout our school and college days. Amma will come with us of course.She will give a 'alavu tuni' and then give these instructions; the sleeves should be atleast one inch longer than; the length of the blouse should be atleast one inch longer; and the neckline should be two inches shorter. The tailor used to listen patiently but do his own thing. He cant churn out a work of art which resembles a pillow cover more than a blouse. If he had faithfully followed her instructions, then atleast somewhere along the way there would be this perfect 'alavu tuni'.I would go and pick up the stitched cloth and when i wore it, amma would say that the tailor has not done her bidding;' what do you gain by exposing your arms in the sun, they will only get dark' she will add by way of explanation.I was secretly happy that this tailor did not follow amma's instructions to the T.But there was no question of shifting loyalty, as this tailor had absolute monopoly in our neighbourhood.Yes, he did expand from a small bunk to a big showroom, selling khakhi uniforms to the IAF clientele.People were not stitching so many clothes those days i guess, and one tailor was just sufficient.

The scene shifs to Pune to Deccan Gymkhana where i was shown a tailors shop; 'Vaishali'if I remember right. A posh one it was with stiched ware, displayed elegantly. It was almost like a textile showroom. My first visit there with a friend gave me a huge shock. The male tailors were taking measurements of girls. I have never witnessed it with T NP Rao. I never went there again, and all my stitching needs piled up for visit back home. It was also had a big revelation to me,that if you want slight alterations to be done, there were 'alteration specialists'; a series of bunks on the banks of mutha river, on the way to Lakshmi road. The regular tailors would not dirty their hands with them.

Tambaram sanatorium had its unique tailor. He was the same person who supplies fresh milk (karanda paal). He had a makeshift tailoring shop and was patronised for the ease and comfort of the entire process. He would be not be finiky to fashion a shirt for prashant from a left over 'bit' and would say he would 'adjust'.The shirt will appear alright, but with different textures and colours for the collar. But the kiddo will not mind in the least bit, and neither would we. He was also good in 'alterations'; he would readily agree and alter any cloth ; never mind that invariably it will have no connection to our specs. It will end up going back to him as donation.Everybody was happy.

'innum varum'.....