This story led me to muse about some other stories connected to tailors.
The earliest one that I remember was being taken to a shop that sold ready made school uniforms run by an old Madras entrepreneur. He made the unfortunate mistake of making friends with my father and so, the three siblings were all marched to his shop to get made to order uniforms as ready made rates.
A little older I learnt about another famous story now known throughout the length and breadth of my glorious country -about my father’s acquaintanceship with Muhammed Ali Jinnah the connection being the sharing of the same tailor that suited both of them.
The photo on top is of my father and the one at the bottom is of Jinnah. Both are dated 1944, three years before the partition when both gentlemen lived in Bombay. I was one year old at the time and do not remember meeting the great man who is reputed to have pinched my cheeks and commented something to the effect of what a grand looking fellow I was.
Subsequently, I had many tailors who outfitted me as was the term for tailors stitching clothes for men. When we moved to Pune in 1990, I zeroed in on a remarkable young man Riaz who continues to outfit me even till today though he is left with only one tailor/cutter as the business has shifted to ready made garments.
When Manjiree came into our home last August, she took one look at my wardrobe and marched me to a garment shop and bought me some jeans and fancy shirts while ensuring that I junked most of my old fashioned garments. I duly did that but cheated her by rarely if ever wearing those new clothes to go out and wearing our traditional kurta/pajama ensembles. She cannot complain as that is our national dress and is not subject to the vagaries of fashion.
It is a pity that I cannot produce another famous personality outfitted by Riaz and his merry men with who I can share some reflected glory.