Z. S. Garment

Z. S. Garment is located in Andheri West, specifically at H. M. Khan Chawl on Juhu Lane. We are near Faruqia Masjid on Gilbert Hill Road. This is a very lively and packed part of the city. Working in a chawl means we are right in the middle of the community. You can hear the sounds of the neighborhood all day long while we are at our sewing machines. It is a modest setup, just enough room for us to work and keep our materials. We don't have much in the way of air conditioning, so we rely on the ceiling fans and the breeze when we can get it. The work we do is simple garment making. We take the fabric and turn it into whatever is needed at the time. It is a lot of repetitive movement, but we are used to it by now. Being near the masjid means we have a good sense of the time throughout the day. People often stop by just to say hello or to see what we are working on. It’s not a high-end boutique or anything like that. It is just a place where local people come together to work and earn a living. We try to keep things moving along even when it gets really busy and the space feels a bit small for all the cloth we have. There’s always some chai being passed around to keep us going in the afternoon. It’s just how we operate here. We don't worry too much about the mess during work.