By Aamir Latif, IOL Correspondent
KARACHI — Mustafeezuddin, owner of a tailoring shop in Nazimabad in southern Karachi, is busy ordering his employees to speed up work to finish `Eid clothes for his clients.
"We are open 24 hours since the beginning of the last week of Ramadan to ready the orders on time,” Mustafeezuddin told IslamOnline.net.
He has hired additional workforce to help finish all `Eid clothes orders requested by his clients.
"I have hired additional ten women tailors who have been sewing women’s and children’s clothes while sitting at their homes,” he said.
"It does not merely earn extra money to them, but also helps us meet our commitment of timely delivery.”
`Eid Al-Fitr, one of the two main Islamic religious festivals together with `Eid Al-Adha, started in Pakistan on Monday, September 21.
During `Eid, families and friends exchange visits to express well wishes and children, wearing new clothes bought especially for `Eid, enjoy going out in parks and open fields.
Days before the Muslim festival, tailoring shops work around the clock to meet the orders of their clients.
The high demand is forcing many tailors, who belong to upcountry, not to return to their home towns for `Eid celebrations with their families.
"I would love to celebrate `Eid with my parents, who live in Bahawalpur (a city of Punjab province), but I prefer to earn some money for them," said tailor Khuda Bux.
"That is why I am not going to my hometown on `Eid because of work burden."
Favourite Picks
Topping the list of favourites is Shalwar Kameez, a loose trouser and loose shirt, the national and most-popular dress.
"Mostly men like white Shalwar Kameez on `Eid,” says Tariq Waseem, who owns a tailoring shop in Clifton, one of the posh localities.
"Some of them like simple stitching, while some prefer embroidered ones. But white is the favorite color for `Eid.”
Besides white, light blue and brown Shalwar Kameez are also in high demand.
Prices of Shalwar Kameez varies from one area to another.
In posh localities, stitching price for a simple Shalwar Kameez ranges from Rs 300 (4.5 dollars) to Rs 1000 (12 dollars), while it costs between Rs 150 (2 dollars) to Rs 300 (4.5 dollars) in middle and lower-middle class areas.
For women, tailors and fashion designers have introduced new designs this year.
Boutiques in posh localities are witnessing late night visits by women, where dresses costing between RS 2000 (25 dollars) and Rs 24000 (300 dollars) are being sold.
Black, white, green and blue colors are high in demand this year.
Lucrative
Despite the price hikes and ever-increasing inflation, the irresistible charm of buying new clothes for `Eid has not died down among Pakistanis.
"There is no decline in my business. In fact I have got more orders as compared to previous year,” saysWaseem, the owner of a tailoring shop in Clifton.
"We have increased stitching charges by RS 100 (1.20 dollars) per Shalwar Kameez, and still there is no let up in new orders.”
Business is also booming for Mustafeezuddin, the Nazimabad tailor.
"It seems as if the charm of new clothes on `Eid is irresistible, particularly among children and women, despite increasing inflation and price-hike,” he notes.
"Last year, I had hired 8 women for sewing clothes for me, but this year I had to hire two more because of the increasing orders,” he added.
"I have been receiving orders in bulk,” said Mustafeezuddin.
“This year, I have got an order of 200 dresses by a local philanthropist, who have been distributing sewed clothes among needy people on `Eid for last ten years.”
Some philanthropists and charities like Al-Khidmat Foundation and Edhi Foundation provide hundreds of thousands of new dresses for the poor and needy every `Eid.
The Al-Khidmat, the country’s largest charity, distributes nearly 100,000 `Eid dresses throughout the country.
"Orders from these NGOs and philanthropists have been increasing by every passing year,” asserts Mustafeez.
"There is no decline in this phenomenon despite increasing poverty, inflation and price-hike.
"We are doing a roaring business also because of these NGOs and philanthropists.”
No comments:
Post a Comment