CHENNAI : It’s a rainy weekday afternoon. We halt in front of a shop on Velayutha Chetty Street off Aditanar Road. We open the glass door, enter the small, tidy store, and find a man in his early 50s meticulously graphing and cutting a dark khaki terry cotton fabric. In swift movements, he cuts a few pieces, places the scissors down, turns around, picks a stitched yellow-brown khaki shirt, and hands it to a worker, who starts making holes on the shoulder patches. To anyone, this might seem like an uncommon sight, but for Gopinath, it is his daily routine. We are at KS Mani Tailoring House, a household name for uniforms, among the state’s police force. “We stitch close to 20 sets of uniforms every day, and get orders from officers across the state. We take bookings two months in advance,” says the second generation owner.
His father, KS Mani, initially set his own tailoring shop in Pune at the age of 16, before moving to then Madras. “My father was always interested in tailoring and started his own shop in Pune...but, he used to stitch clothes only for civilians. He came to Madras for his wedding, and he decided to settle here. That’s when he found the perfect place for his tailoring shop in Pudupet, and after almost 60 years, his legacy lives on,” smiles Gopinath.
The shop was moved to its present location 35 years ago. “We were located just a few metres away from this store. The building which we are now in is about 100 years old,” he says.
Pudupet, much like its present state, was dotted with stationed police officers, which became a potential that Mani decided to tap on. “Due to the nature of the area, most of his customers were policemen. So, he began stitching uniforms for them. He learned how to perfectly stitch uniforms, and continued stitching for civilians. Currently we stitch only police uniforms,” he explains.
What started as a small shop with just two workers, now has about ten workers. But, Gopinath says they are looking for more efficient tailors to increase production. “Back then the number of policemen and officers were less. Now, there are over two lakh officers. So, we need more people to speed up the process. We also get orders during parades and officers award ceremonies. Unfortunately, the youngsters who come to us for work, are not interested in stitching uniforms. It needs 100 per cent concentration and precision. They are not ready to commit to that” he says.
Kannan, who has worked with Gopinath for over three decades, nods in agreement. “He does the hole work in the shoulder patch, manually. Earlier, 70 per cent of work was done manually. Using a pedal-operated machine to stitch a pure cotton fabric uniform was extremely tough. Now, the fabric is mostly light terry cotton and is wrinkle free. We stitch with ‘power machines’,” explains Gopinath. Additional DGP Sylendra Babu, former DGP K Vijayakumar, and Commissioner TK Rajendran are his regular clients. “My father used to stitch for all the top officers of his time. We stitched former DGP K Vijayakumar’s uniform for his entire service period. My father also used to stitch the famous tunic coats until the force stopped using it,” he shares.
The store is stacked with around 50 shades of khaki. “Since there are no set rules for the khaki shade that the officers are supposed to wear, they dabble with different shades,” he shares. Just then, a police officer walks in asking for a light green khaki shade.Gopinath charges `1,500 per set from senior police officers, and `1,000 from constables. “The manual work in uniforms of senior officers is more. From collars, pockets to shoulder patches, everything is done in a certain way. Even if there’s a minute difference or mistake in a uniform, I can identify it. I have spent most of my life with my father in this shop and have learned the art from him. I am doing everything to keep his legacy alive,” he adds.
Regular clients
Additional DGP Sylendra Babu, former DGP K Vijayakumar, and Commissioner TK Rajendran