Priti David

Vishaka George

Editor

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“I’ll
put a gold border and give it some pleats. We can also add a few cut-outs on
the sleeve, but that will be another 30 rupees.”

These
are routine conversations Sharada Makwana has with her clients, some of whom
she says can be quite particular about the length of the sleeve, the kind of
lace and the weight of tassels attached to the strings that tie-up the daring
low-back saree blouses. “I can also make flowers with the cloth and add them on
as embellishments,” she says proud of her skills, and then she goes on to show
us just how she does it. 

Sharada
and other local saree blouse tailors like her, are Kushalgarh women’s favourite
fashion advisors. Afterall, almost all young girls and women of all ages who
wear sarees, need that 80 cm of cloth to be tailored just so. 

In an
otherwise deeply patriarchal society where women don’t get a voice in public
meetings, and the sex ratio at birth is an alarming 879 females per 1,000 men
(National Family Health Survey, <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/library/resource/national-family-health-survey-nfhs-5-2019-21-compendium-of-fact-sheets-key-indicators---india-and-14-statesuts-phase-ii/">NFHS-5</a>), women’s agency over their
clothing is something to cheer about. 

This
small town in Rajasthan’s Banswara district is filled with tailoring shops.
The men’s tailors are split between those stitching shirts and pants, and those
who make wedding attire like kurtas and even coats for winter bridegrooms. Both
are rather sedate affairs, the colours palate not venturing beyond an
occasional light pink or red.

The
shops of saree blouse tailors on the
other hand, are a riot of colours, twirling tassels, glinting gota (gold and silver edging), and
scraps of colourful cloths strewn all over. “You should come a few weeks later
when the wedding season will start,” says the 36-year-old, her face lighting
up. “Then I will get very busy.” She dreads rainy days as then no one ventures
out and her business drops. 

Sharada
estimates that there are at least 400-500 blouse tailors in the small town,
population of a 10,666 (Census 2011). Kushalgarh tehsil however is among the largest in Banswara district with over
3 lakh people, and her customers come from as far as 25 kilometres away. “I get
customers from Ukala, Baolipada, Sarva, Ramgarh and other villages,” she says.
“Once they come to me, they don’t go anywhere else again,” she adds smiling.
She says her customers speak on clothes, life in general, their health and children’s
futures. 

She
bought a Singer machine for Rs. 7,000 when she started, and two years later
picked up a second-hand Usha sewing machine for smaller jobs like saree peeko (edging) which brings in Rs. 10
per saree. She also stitches petticoats and Patiala suits (salwar kameez), and charges Rs. 60 to Rs. 250 respectively. 

Sharada
also doubles up as a beautician. At the back of the shop is a barber’s chair, a
large mirror and an array of make-up products. Her arsenal of beauty tricks
extends from threading eyebrows, to removing body hair, bleaching and haircuts
for small children, especially fussy babies, all charged around Rs. 30 to 90.
“Women go to bigger parlours for facials,” she points out.

To
find her you have to get to the main market in Kushalgarh. There is more than
one bus stand from where roughly 40 buses leave every day with migrants going
into Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Banswara district has a lot of distress
migration as there is only rain-fed agriculture and no other livelihoods. 

Down
a narrow street in Panchal mohalla of
the town, past the bustling market of small sweet shops selling morning snacks
like poha and jalebi, is Sharada’s one-room tailoring shop cum beauty parlour. 

The
36-year-old lost her husband eight years ago; he was a taxi driver and
struggled with a liver problem that finally took his life. Sharada and her
children live with her in-laws and her late husband’s brother’s family. 

The
young widow says a chance meeting changed her life. “I met a madam at the
anganwadi who said try out the Sakhi centre and learn whatever you want.” The
centre – a not-for-profit initiative –
was a place where young women could learn marketable skills. Timings were
flexible and she would land up when her household chores were over; some days
she spent an hour or up to half a day. The centre charged a monthly fee of Rs.
250 for every student.

“I
liked the sewing work, and we were taught very thoroughly,” adds a grateful
Sharada who asked to learn more than just blouses. “I said to them, teach me
whatever you can, and in 15 days I mastered it!” Armed with new skills, the
entrepreneur decided to set up on her own four years ago.  

“Kuch aur hi mazaa hai, khud ki kamayi
[it’s a different feeling to have your own earnings],” says the mother of three
who did not want to depend on her in-laws for everyday expenses. “I want to
stand on my own feet.”

Her
older daughter, 20-year-old Shivani is studying to be a nurse in a college in
Banswara; 17-year-old Harshita and 12-year-old Yuvraj are both in school here
in Kushalgarh. Her children, she says, prefer the government school for higher
secondary and so have shifted out of private school when they come to Class 11.
“They change teachers too often in private schools.”

Sharada
was married at 16, and when her eldest daughter got to that age, the mother
wanted to wait, but no one listened to the young widow. Today, she and her
daughter are trying their best to get the marriage, which remains on paper,
annulled, so that the young girl is free. 

When
the shop next to Sharada fell vacant, she persuaded her friend, also a single
parent, to set up her tailoring store. “Even though each month the earnings are
different, I feel good that I can stand on my own feet.”

Kushalgarh’s blouse tailor stitches her own story

سلائی سے اپنی کہانی تیار کرتیں کشل گڑھ کی درزی

குஷால்கரில் சொந்த காலில் நிற்கும் பெண் தையல்காரர்

ਕੁਸ਼ਲਗੜ੍ਹ ਵਿਖੇ ਬਲਾਊਜ਼ ਸਿਉਣ ਵਾਲੀ ਦੀ ਵੱਖਰੀ ਕਹਾਣੀ

କୁଶଲଗଡ଼ର ବ୍ଲାଉଜ୍‌ ଦରଜି ସିଲେଇ କରନ୍ତି ନିଜ ଜୀବନ କାହାଣୀ

आयुष्य शिवत जाणारी कुशलगडची शारदा

കുശാല്‍ഗഢിലെ ബ്ലൗസ് തയ്യൽക്കാരി സ്വന്തം കഥ പറയുമ്പോൾ

ಕುಶಾಲಗಢ: ತನ್ನದೇ ಕತೆ ಹೊಲಿಯುತ್ತಿರುವ ಟೈಲರ್‌

કમખા ભેગું જિંદગીનું પોત સીવતી કુશલગઢની દરજણ

'अपन खुद के कमई के अलग मजा हवय'

कुशलगढ़ के ब्लाउज टेलर के गोटेदार कहानी

‘নিজের রোজগারের টাকা, সে এক আলাদাই মজা’

নিজৰ উপাৰ্জনেৰে চলাৰ মজাই বেলেগ

कुशलगढ़ की दर्ज़ी सिल रही हैं अपनी कहानी

Kushalgarh

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Kushalgarh’s blouse tailor stitches her own story

Sharada Makwana runs a tailoring shop and beauty parlour in this small town in Rajasthan’s Banswara district. Her story

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