By Nabamita Mitra
In less than three years, JC Das Tailors will celebrate its centenary, according to the year of establishment written in black on yellow background outside the shop. The ageing Assam-type structure on GS Road sits in a corner incongruously among large concrete structures with neon signs. An antique clock that belonged to the original owner of the shop has stopped at ‘1.50’ years ago and never bothered to keep pace with time.
Lakshmikanta Singha, the present owner, speaks almost inaudibly. The shop is his pride but no more a joy.
Singha inherited the shop from his foster grandfather, Jiban Chandra Das, after whom the shop is named. The shop, which specialises in men’s apparel, is among the oldest tailoring shops in the city and yet there is no sign of celebration or honour.
JC Tailors, and many others in Shillong, is struggling to stay afloat amid competition from readymade garments market and online shopping. Despite the fame that these tailoring shops have earned over decades, the clientele is dwindling putting tremendous pressure on business.
Singha was only 14 years old when he started assisting JC Das. He learnt tailoring work from him and did odd jobs in Shillong. “This building belonged to a family from Kolkata and they leased it out to dadu (grandfather) because he too was from the same city. It has remained the same way since then,” said Singha, who has been running the shop since 1980 after Das surrendered to age and ailing health.
Established in 1922, the tailoring shop had once catered to the royal families of Darbhanga, now in Bihar, and Sidli in Assam. Singha said he had heard stories about the Darbhanga royal family members and local Syiems stitching clothes from dadu’s shop. “In fact, I had once visited the Assam royal family at Sidli House in Shillong.”
There were around 17 workers in the early days. The number has come down to one today. Arun Ghosh, who is working at the tailoring shop for 20 years now, is from Tripura. Bending over a sewing machine inside the two-room shop, the 48-year-old employee of Singha said he learnt work at JC Tailors and never thought of leaving it.
Rising labour charge has discouraged Singha from hiring more people. “There are not many orders. Now I mostly get size altering job. I also make bags from leftover clothes and these get buyers,” he said.
A few yards from JC Das is Master Qamruddin’s shop that was established in 1970.
Master Qamruddin, the founder, was originally from Allahabad and came to Shillong in 1935. Initially, he had a shop in an Assam-type building on GS Road where Hotel Broadway stands today. Later, he shifted to Jaiaw for two years.
Son Zainul Abedin, now 68, has been running the shop on GS Road since 1978 after completing graduation from St Edmund’s College. But he started work before that. “My father died in 1976. I started learning tailoring work in the day and attended classes at night,” said Abedin.
The wooden racks in the small worn out shop are filled with stacks of cut pieces and stitched clothes. Gowns, dresses and blazers hang neatly inside the shop. It is difficult to locate the master’s shop in the busy locality had it not been for the large blue-coloured tin signboard that announces that ‘Master Qamruddin’ is specialised in ladies’ clothes, mainly western outfits. The corrugated tin sheets which cover the outside of the shop are painted green. One side of the wall is covered with partly-torn bills.
Abedin’s workshop is in the same decrepit building. He pays Rs 10,000 for the space.
The tailor master, who employs four workers, said stitching orders have come down by 50 per cent thanks to readymade clothes and e-shopping. The ban on coal mining in the state has also affected business. “I had many clients from Jaintia Hills but now most of them are gone. But there are still some old clients and their descendants are also coming to my shop,” said Abedin.
The half an hour conversation with Abedin on a weekday was without any interruption as no customer came with stitching order.
A walk up the GS Road to Hotel Monsoon and the narrow staircase goes up to Bechu Ladies Tailoring. Its owner, Shabbir Ahmed, said his great grandfather came to Shillong with the British because he knew how to make western dresses.
“Though the presence of our brand in the city is for over 100 years now, this shop was established in the sixties after the Assam-type building (besides Leela Brothers) that housed our boutique and tailoring shop was destroyed in a fire. We lost everything and my family wanted to leave Shillong. Luckily, we got this space. The name of the shop is after my great-grandfather’s nickname,” said the 43-year-old master tailor.
Of the four siblings, Ahmed took up the family business. “I learnt this work from my father. I can make whatever designs you give me. Sometimes people give designs from the catalogue I have. Youngsters these days bring designs from internet and I can stitch clothes according to that too,” he said when asked how he copes with the competition.
Om Prakash Khatri was a Mathematics teacher but “uncertainty in teaching job” forced him to take up tailoring. Santosh Tailors in Umsohsun is named after Khatri’s sister. The 56-year-old master tailor said he can create any design and make all kinds of apparels, including overcoats and salwar suits.
Khatri too admitted that the changing market trend and fashion has heavily impacted tailoring business but “I get orders throughout the year”. What keeps his business going in time of crisis? “I am honest to my work. I do not overcharge and I cooperate with fellow master tailors,” explained Khatri, who said the shop is more than 45 years old.
When Md Abdul Jalil started Fatima tailors in Laban in 1972, there was not much competition. The present address of the shop is since 1984.
Jalil’s son Mehboob Nongrum said many tailoring shops have mushroomed in the locality over the years making the competition tougher. Post GST and demonetisation, business nosedived 80 per cent.
“During my father’s time, there were 20 workers. But now we are only seven. Problems over labour licence and low payscale in Shillong discourage good tailor masters to come here these days,” informed Nongrum.
Abdullah, the oldest employee at Fatima, said things are changing fast and tailoring shops are falling behind in the race. For ageing workers like Amarendra Paul, options are less and they have to depend on tailoring skill for earning livelihood.
“We are trying to better our skills over time to tide over the crisis. Bring any design and we will deliver it,” 55-year-old Abdullah continued to speak without stopping his work.
Most of the old tailoring shops, including Fatima, take up orders for school uniforms which help them break even. “The business has marginally improved over two years,” Nongrum said.
Rana Das’s small rented shop in Rilbong is comparatively new but he has been in this field for a long time. “I am originally from Assam. My father worked in Shillong. When I was in Class IV, our school was burnt down during the communal tension in Assam. After that, I stopped studying and came to Shillong in search of work,” Das said.
Das learnt tailoring work at New Shillong Tailoring Shop, which shut down long back. Before starting his own business in 2002, Das apprenticed with masters in other shops. His shop is located in a residential area, away from the hustle and bustle of main market areas in the city. This has proved disadvantageous for the growth of Das’s business that has been further affected by new-age fashion trend online.
“I take orders for school uniforms which help me run my family. I work alone as I cannot afford a worker or helper. Anyway I do not need one as I get a handful of orders for trousers and shirts. I have two daughters and I presume that none of them would be interested in running the business. So the shop ends with me,” said the 52-year-old owner of Das Tailors.
Others like Das also think their tailoring business will end with them. Singha’s children live outside Meghalaya and do not intend to come back. It is the same with Abedin. None of them ever thought of diversifying their business or taking up a new job as “it is not easy to start afresh”.
But as master tailors, these old shop owners know the adage, “A stitch in time saves nine”. So over the years, most of them have tried to better their cutting and stitching skills to cater to the various demands of clients. Those who did not see the deepening crisis are already struggling to survive.
In this race for survival of the fittest, many stories are lost. Shops like JC Das’s are part of the city’s history. These decades-old shops are witness to the changing face of Shillong, its transformation from a pristine hill city to a bustling urban market. Only if walls could speak and stitch up stories of the bygone days.