Payel Tailor

Our shop is at number 559 in Tagore Park, over in Kasba. It’s not a very big place, just enough room for a few sewing machines and stacks of fabric. We’ve been sitting here for quite a while now, watching the neighborhood change around us. Most days it’s just the sound of the needles clicking and the radio playing softly in the corner. People from around the park bring us all sorts of things. Sometimes it’s a wedding outfit that needs a bit of taking in, and other times it’s just a pair of old trousers with a hole in the pocket. We don't have a fancy system for taking orders, just a notebook where we scribble down names and dates. It gets pretty crowded in here when we have a lot of cloth waiting to be cut. We try to keep things tidy, but thread gets everywhere no matter what we do. My hands are usually stained with chalk by the end of the day. We aren't a big factory or one of those expensive boutiques you see in the malls. We're just local people who know how to use a needle and thread. If you walk past, you’ll probably see us bent over the machines or talking to a neighbor who stopped by to chat. It’s a simple way to earn a living and we like being part of the street here in Kasba. Sometimes we have to stay late under the tube lights when a big order is due, but we don't mind much.