This has been a sad week. Four years ago, husband Tahir proudly set up a sizeable showroom in south Delhi. After years of struggle and working for others, he at last had a place of his own. Starting as an unprepossessing basement space, it became an Aladdin’s cave. From floor to ceiling, glass shelves glowed with a selection of brilliant silks and other textiles – zari work, block print, embroideries, tribal work, appliqué, patchwork and crewel – the colours and textures irresistible to all but the most unresponsive visitor.
This was Tahir’s stage and on it his salesmanship was pure theatre. Rhythmically and enticingly, gorgeous shawls and scarves were plucked one by one from their shelves and spread out with a flourish and an enquiring smile. Just a pause for the customer to appreciate the piece, then another would follow, and another and another, till the floor was knee-deep in glorious fabric and the mesmerised client begged for mercy!
The basement is there but Aladdin has gone, banished by new planning regulations affecting businesses in Delhi. Now, we’re in a small shop we were lucky to get and Tahir must sit on the floor to show his shawls. With a lot of hard work and the intrinsic beauty of the products, the place looks nice but, it has to be said, it’s not the same.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: fabrics, planning, sealing, selling, shawls, shops, tahir
