Dhirubhai of Advocate Tailors

Dhirubhai of Advocate Tailors, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

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He is a man I respect the most in my tailoring fraternity and he reminds me of my Dad who was respectfully called Shakir Master .

Perhaps I see my dad in him , but he is a sober man cultured and humble unlike my dad who was colorful robust and a hardcore romantic , my dad was good looking in a rakish way.

Dhirubhai is a simple man , in the trade since 1963 his clientele is intact and keeps growing from one generation to the next though sadly Dhirubhai is the last of his generation , as his children all well settled are million light years away from tailoring.

His two daughters are well settled in United States of America, they call him every day , his daughter Geeta lives with him to serve him , though she is married and well settled too in Mumbai Ghatkopar.

His one son Ravi moved to Ahmedabad and the other son my dear friend is a doctor , the only Hindu doctor with the largest Muslim patents in all of Bandra West. Dr RD Parmar of Bandra Jain Mandir Road.

Dhirubhai wears a long shirt and a pajama , sartorial simplicity in this designing world of fashion and style..but he is good at his work, and he is honest polite and soft spoken..

When I am depressed sad I sit with Dhirubhai listen to his tales , he knows all the top lawyers judges that have made their wardrobe with him, and he greets them when they enter his shop close to my workspace.

That I am into tailoring too does not matter , he gets what he is deemed to get ..Dhirubhai does everything himself cut stitch press he is always involved with the garment .. giving it a touch of hope..

So I touch his feet consider him a Guru of my trade and he listens to my stories my failures my love life too.. he will never broach me , he just listens he subscribes to Midday that I borrow and read every day.

Once upon a time Dhirubhai and his family his father was a Master too stayed at Marwadi Chawl Bandra.

Bandra has changed but Dhirubhai remains unchanged he is what he was when he was young, he will never retire and I know Dhirubhai has greater pain in his heart than me , he has never told me, he conceals it well but as a mind reader I know it all..and perhaps he too is a mind reader as he knows my pain too ..my predilection my doom..

Once during Idd , that is the time when Dhirubhai is packed with work, all the Muslims from our area make their Idd clothes with Dhirubhai.. and I never envy him , a guy wanted to have a pathani urgently made he came to me two days before Ramzan Idd.. I refused him , he said but Sir you makes clothes for everyone in my area aren't you Advocate Tailors.. I directed him to Dhirubhai.. so such is my relationship with Dhirubhai, most of his clients are my best friends but I refuse to make their clothes.

And they understand my style my content my form is different from Dhirubhai but we are one as he is a traditionalist like me..and honestly he is my inspiration , he uses the same English scissors my dad used..and through Dhirubhai I try to discover my dead departed father one of his kind Shakir Master..who was a connoisseur of beauty and a heart throb..

My younger brother Shakil Shakir was luckier he learnt tailoring under my Dad , and though I hated tailoring cutting , I learnt cutting under Miss Spencer at Windmere Road close to Taj Mahal Hotel..and accidentally got drawn to couture ..

I have seen great masters of the olden era Bul Bul Master of Shrimans and so many others but my dad was unique and made clothes of all the dons of the 60 s Haji Mastan , Yusuf Patel, Basu Bhai Khaliq Bhai ,Karim Lala Maxy Rashid Arba best friend of Basu Bhai and they came to our house at Jony Castle Wodehouse Road.. it was a era of white clothes and Rampuri chaku.. no guns no bombs just a word of the don could make you piddle in your pants..

And they gave us kids money generously they were our childhood heroes ..

So sitting at Dhirubhai s shop I let my mind my imagination soar..