Aurangabad, April 24:
Like any other festivals in India, there is a trend amongst Muslim devotees to wear new clothes to celebrate the Ramzan Eid. As a result, the tailor fraternity is engaged in stitching new clothes of their customers during the whole month. The implementation of lockdown for the last two consecutive years during the festival, however, has forced the fraternity to bear financial losses. Meanwhile, the tailors claimed that they are struggling for the survival of themselves as well as the staff (comprising artisans and workers) associated with them in the business.
There are more than 3,000 tailors. They continued to maintain the importance of tailor-made clothes in the days of ready-made clothing. It is assumed that each tailor generally takes booking of stitching between 700 and 2000 dresses during the Ramzan festival. Hence as the festival commences, some tailors stop taking fresh bookings from the 10th Roza so that they could deliver the ready products to their customers before Eid so that the devotees could wear and go to offer the special eid prayers.
The fraternity became restless this year. Last year the shops were closed and they anyhow took care of the artisans and workers, but the situation again emerged this year. As a result, many of the tailors left the city and also sent their artisans and workers to their native places. They underlined that the financial crisis had been multiplied this year.
Taking care of artisans/workers
Says a tailor Syed Abdul Mukheed (Buddi Lane), " We are undergoing a traumatic situation for the past 13 months. We could survive in the business only if our workers and artisans exist. For the past many days, I am taking care of my associates by giving them wages for no work. Every year, during Ramzan eid, I stitch clothes of 700 persons. The situation has become heinous due to lockdown."
Close booking after 10th Roza
Another tailor, Shareq Nawab (City Chowk) said, " There is a large number of citizens who prefer to wear tailor-made (stitched) clothes. Every year, we would stitch at least 2,000 dresses for the Ramzan Eid. We would stop the bookings after 10th Roza. Like last year, this year also we are unable to do the work. We had sent the workers/artisans to their native places. The tailor fraternity is undergoing a severe recession."