I bet, you will never be able to guess Basher’s French, Italian and German connection.
At 57, he sits in a small cramped shop started by his father, Khader Moideen, in 1938 inside ‘Pudumandapam’. His job is to continuously cut yarns of clothes into various shapes, sizes and designs.
Wearing a baniyan and lungi, Basher remains bent most of the time over his cloth cutting table. With a tailor’s chalk in hand, the measuring tape around his neck, his eyes and mind remain focused on the fabric in front of him.
He looks up only at the call of a customer, who come to him from far and near to get their garments stitched by him specifically.
“I offer individual clothing to individual people which expresses their style,” he says in between his snipping scissors.
But such is his reputation for giving perfectly customised fitting that his customers return greatly happy or send new people searching for him in crowded Pudumandapam holding a copy of “Le Guide Routard – Inde de sud”.
And Basher tells this small interesting story of his life that made him famous as owner of “Baaisy Tailor & Le Boutique”.
In 1999, a French reporter from the above mentioned guide book of France with a chapter on India, hit Basher’s shop for some tailoring work. He was so impressed not only by Basher’s custom clothing but even his honesty because he did not over-charge from a foreigner and sincerity for delivering the stitched items to his hotel at the appointed but an unearthly hour within 10 hours of placing the order.
The French tourist also fell in love with Basher’s small kiosk selling all handicraft items, bags (the popular ‘surukkupais’), strolls, scarves, cushion covers etc. He went back and included Basher’s shop in the French guide book with a small description and location.
Basher has remained in these pages for the past one decade.
“He could not pronounce my name properly as he had difficulty in saying ‘r’, so I became ‘Baaisy’ for him and that’s the way he named by shop in the book and I too changed the name board here,” he says pointing to the green board on the top.
The guide book has been translated in German and Italian too and that is how Basher gets his continuous stream of clients from these countries.
He cuts and stitches any dress in demand, from formal suits for men to informal kurta-pyjamas and daily wear trousers and shirts. And for women, from short kurtis to long kurtas and salwar or churidar sets, elastic pyjamas, short tops. The customer just has to explain to Basher what he or she wants and how.
“The fit is the most important issue for any tailor. Everyone’s body is different, some have longer arms or a longer upper body which needs to be perceived properly. The level of customisation you can give to the garment has no limit,” he explains.
“I have been in tailoring business for almost four decades. My father trained me. But I am not sure what really attracts people to me,” he says humbly. Perhaps he is one of the edgier tailors in the trade, less conservative than others and yet as committed to making quality suits, jackets and trousers.
He says his business is sustainable. His father started by paying a monthly rent of Rs.1.50 to the Temple administration for the space inside Pudumandapam. Today, he pays Rs.300 a month and earns on an average Rs.500 a day.
“I basically operate on my own. I have three sewing machines and three people to help me now. I don’t do any more stitching, only cutting job. My charges are very reasonable,” he shares.
From Rs.90 to Rs.250, Basher charges depending on the item stitched and fabric used. His niche customers are a demanding lot and can easily take their money elsewhere. But the fact that so many choose to keep their custom with Basher is testament to the reliable and consistent service he offers.
On a regular day, he works from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and well past midnight when time is premium. “There is lot of competition and I can neither afford to miss deadline or charge more,” he says. His small shop works as trial room with a curtain drawn. If any alterations are needed, he does them on-the-spot. “It is perhaps this service which works in my favour,” he smiles.
There's an old expression that a tailor doesn't need to fit just the body, but also the mind and this is very true of Basher. Or why else 120 of the 200-odd tailors left from yesteryears would unhesitantly show you to “shop no.128”. They are fully aware and proud that Basher has brought them on the international hemline.
(Making a difference is a fortnightly column about ordinary people and events that leave an extraordinary impact on us. E-mail to somabasu@thehindu.co.in to tell about someone you know who is making a difference)
