The Tailoring Story – Part 1
In my articles in Samvada, my mission and general intent are to touch upon the blue-collar professions, which entail a lot of hard work, precision, accuracy, and yet do not stand to be justifiably compensated.
I usually attempt to talk about the family backgrounds of these people and about the hardships that they have gone through to reach a level where they finally are and are making both ends meet, looking after their families, and doing their best to make sure their children achieve a secure future.
Tailoring is one profession where, compared to equipment and machinery, more of self-practice, experience, and hand expertise are needed. Looking at the Sushant Vyapaar Kendra, there are about a dozen tailors, and I thought this time I would talk to them individually, learn something about their personal and professional lives, and create an article about them.
Beautiful Things Are Created One Stitch At A Time…
Let’s talk about Phoolmati, the only lady tailor available at the SVK. A 55-year-old lady who started her profession at the age of 29. “The last 26 years have been very tough for me. I had two children—a son and a daughter. My daughter unfortunately passed away, and the responsibility to raise her daughter, Aarti, fell on my shoulders. I did all that I could do to educate and raise her, and now she has come of age, and I think I must get her married.”
Phoolmati sees a lot of challenge (and threat) in taking care of the 16-year-old girl, which is why she has her sitting by her side all day without her having much to do. “I am trying to gather as much money as I can to get her married. On average, I earn Rs. 300 to 350 per day, out of which I spend about Rs. 100 commuting from my house in Kanhai Gaon to Vyapaar Kendra, and I pay Rs. 4,000 for my house rent.
The day I cannot come to work, I make nothing, so you can see how I am living from hand-to-mouth. My husband has developed cataracts in his eye and can barely see. I am weak, and my health is bad. I have developed high blood pressure, and my knees are giving way. For survival, I eat roti just with salt and chutney.
Dear readers, one of our intentions at Samvada should also be to practise benevolence. I am personally feeling sad for Phoolmati. She’s under a lot of pressure. Let us help her financially in whatever way we can. With your help, she will be able to see her granddaughter married. You can connect with Phoolmati at 93153 86760.
