Lakshmi Bai is draped in a candy-pink sari, an orange umbrella by her side. She calmly watches passers-by on NSC Bose Road — she’s been standing in the same place for over 50 years now. Lakshmi is a mannequin at Ebrahim Currim & Sons, and a pampered one at that. She’s their lucky charm — she gets an expensive new sari every six months, and holds a special place in the heart of her employer. “We named her after the goddess,” smiles Suresh M. Shah, the manager. “We believe she brings us good business.”
The building, that’s over 100 years old, houses countless umbrellas marked with the Stag logo. They’re everywhere — rubbing shoulders inside glass cabinets and piled inside wooden racks at the showroom in George Town. Climb upstairs, and beyond the dusty landing you can see umbrella frames peek from the dark recesses. At the workshop on the first floor, glittery umbrellas used at weddings and temple festivals are being shaped by S.M. Sultan and his son Ibrahim. Do you possess an umbrella that your mother took to college? Or one that your grandfather used as a walking stick? Chances are that they bear the Stag mark.
It was circa 1860 when the Mumbai-based Ebrahim Currim chose to make a living from mending umbrellas. He sourced the necessary equipment from England and started a small workshop in his hometown. Ebrahim gradually learned the art of making an umbrella. Essentially black, which doubled as a walking stick, he called his line ‘Stag’. His umbrellas, known for their sturdy metal frames and handles, then made their way to Madras. “A workshop and showroom were established here about hundred years ago,” explains Suresh.
The unit consisted of 35 men who hand-stitched the umbrellas — they assembled the metal frames and sewed black fabric around it. “It took five people to create one,” explains Suresh. Today, machines do most of the work. Their workshop has just three men, and most of their umbrellas are assembled at the Mumbai unit.
Many of the city’s fruit, vegetable, flower and sea-food sellers are nurtured under the shade of a Stag umbrella — their multi-colour garden varieties, stitched at the Chennai unit, are perhaps the first big investment of these vendors. The company sells over 130 varieties of umbrellas, ranging from the good-old thatha kudai to colourful three-fold varieties.
Suresh says the country is divided in its taste for umbrellas. “South Indians like dark colours like reds and greens, while in North India, lighter colours sell well.” And Tamil Nadu is, perhaps, the only State that continues to use the thatha kudai. “Even today, we have people from nearby villages walking in to buy one,” he adds.
Just then, a fruit vendor purchases a garden umbrella for Rs. 2,300. Another customer opens out a bright pink one. Upstairs, Sultan is bent over a sewing machine, stitching golden-orange umbrellas. The 72-year-old is Ebrahim Currim & Sons’ oldest employee — he stitches over 20 units per day, and has worked with them for over 40 years. The man has roughly created over two lakh umbrellas during his lifetime.
Name: Ebrahim Currim & Sons
Founder: Ebrahim Currim
Established: 1860
Brand: Stag
Published - February 16, 2016 04:24 pm IST
