Lure of the Dollar

This is the English version of - பட்டம்

I was not surprised when Dakshinamoorthy  our ‘aasthana tailor’ was bitten by the bug with which every Indian is afflicted at some point of life:

“To go abroad, to amass wealth in dollars, pounds or rials, and  come back to India and lead a comfortable life.”

The visit from a lady from Malaysia to his tailoring shop had metamorphosed Dakshina (that’s how we call him) into an entirely different species. The lady placed an order with him to make two dozens of sari blouses and within a week Dakshina delivered the whole lot with precise fittings!! Pleased with such a perfect work with perfect timing she placed another  order, this time  for a dozen churidhar sets and lo and behold! the same magic repeated itself. “minimum time with precise fittings!!”

 We wondered if it was the same Dakshina who used to drag us, his old customers even over six months for a blouse!!

The satisfaction in Dakshina’s handiwork  made the lady think.

“Why don’t I start a business with such an excellent tailor? He will be happy to go abroad and make money and it will not hurt to add some more dollars to my kitty.”

When the lady made the proposal of working in Kuala Lumpur, Dakshina  couldn’t believe himself. Is it a dream? He took his right hand behind and pinched his bottom really hard without letting the lady know what he was up to. It hurt and pained. He winced. Was the tea boy standing nearby observed his actions? He was not sure.

And Dakshina’s heart was doing a triple jump record creating a new record. Luckily no one could observe this inner reaction!

“Is it this easy to go abroad?” Dakshina wondered.

He had heard of people paying through their nose by selling their precious lands and properties or borrowing from money lenders to pay to the job agents. But today this precious opportunity is falling on his feet like manna from heaven. Without moving one little straw he is going to go abroad!

The Malaysian lady left with the promise that everything would happen very soon and she would let him know. From then on Dakshina was living in a different world altogether. Never an early riser in his life he got up around 4.30 in the morning. “There is a time difference of two and a half hours between India and Malaysia it seems” he said to himself “and from now on I have to acclimatize myself to that country. Can’t afford to be late.” He was even dreaming of Malaysian ladies coming out of his fitting room praising his excellent work!

At some point of her conversation the lady had mentioned that Malaysia is a Muslim country. Dakshina  thought that propitiating those Gods would augur well in his career and so he made a visit to the famous dargha near Higginbothams in Mount Road and promised to recompense when everything went through.

“Dakshina what do we do in your absence?”  we asked him.

“My brother will take care of your needs amma.” Dakshina said without batting an eyelid. He very well knew that his brother was a lazy goon and what he did in the shop was to make button holes and attach hooks to the blouses. In his Malaysian dream, his good for nothing brother had been promoted to be the main tailor!!

His passport reached him quickly thanks to the lady officer working in the passport office who happened to be his customer. And now Dakshina was expecting the divine call from Malaysia. Months passed by… Nothing moved…. Neither was there any phone call nor a letter.

Slowly Dakshinaa came back to the old routine.

He cursed himself for taking that lady seriously…. .

He cursed himself for trumpeting about Malaysian trip.

He cursed himself for waking up at ungodly hours.

He cursed himself for going to the dargha. ‘Lord Kapaleeswarar had punished me rightly.’ he thought.

He cursed his brother for not learning the trade.

And happily for us it was back to business at Dakshina’s tailor shop, with the usual delays and of course the usual compensating smiles and perfect stitchings!!

All of a sudden it all happened in a week’s time! The lady from Malaysia had come back with all the necessary papers and Dakshina  would be accompanying her to Malaysia in a few days!! Lucky chap!! When anyone under takes an air travel for the first time they would make a lot of enquiry about how to proceed, what are the papers to be filled in the airport and how to put on the seat belt etc. The fear of being alone there for the first time would take off all the fun from the travel. But this blessed man was going royally in the company of the well travelled lady!!!

Many a marriage took place in the locality without the handiwork of Dakshina. During Xmas when we came back from the midnight mass there was no one waiting near our gate with the bundle of stitched clothes. Even though the children were unhappy for not having a new dress for the midnight service they would be happy to see Dakshina as if Santa himself had come down with gifts. We missed all the fun.

One day as I was negotiating my way through the audacious flower sellers near Kapali temple I turned back when someone said  “amma how are you?”

 “ Oh hello Dakshina how are you? When did you come ? Is it a holiday for you? How long are you staying  here? How is business over there?” I was excited

“Everything was fine for him it seemed. And the lady true to her words had set up a shop in the centre of Brick Lane, the hub of Indian population in Kuala Lampur and the business was going good. But profit sharing between the two has reduced his quantum.

“Why should I hide it from you amma?” he said “I am earning almost the same as I was here may be a wee bit more . And why should I leave my family and people like you to get that pittance there?”

I almost leapt! “Good good “ I thought “ Dakshina is back in Madras!”

But that joy was destined to be short lived.

Dakshina  had bigger plans.

 “Why should I hide it from you amma?” he started with the same prelude “There are many tailors in Kuala Lampur who are doing independent business. I became friends with many. What else to do in a foreign land? Whenever we get time we sit together talk and drink kopi. They call our ‘kaapi’ (coffee) like that there. And they suggested that I can also have a business on my own provided I have the proper papers. And I am here to organize everything . And if things work out fine I can also pull this lazy chap over there.” he continued “If you are a graduate you can get the papers very easily.”

“Are you a graduate Dakshina?” I asked half in curiosity and half in wonderment

“Why should I hide it from you amma?” he started with his  favourite prelude “You very well know I am an illiterate. I can put my signature in Tamil and English. But amma there are agents to do all these. You pay them the amount and they will get all the papers ready for you.”

“ Ok, Dakshina  all the best” I bid farewell to him.

‘Even the occasional visit to Dakshina’s brother is not going to be possible anymore.’ I sighed

Months passed. One day as I was passing Dakshina’s shop I saw him sitting on the machine.” Why Dakshina, haven’t you  left yet?” I asked curiously

“ Amma there is no country like our own” he said philosophically. As an afterthought he added “Why should I hide it from you amma?” and thus narrated the following story.

 On the day of his interview he dressed neatly and put all his papers in the new attaché case he got from Malaysia. He went to the Malaysian embassy and walked in with all confidence. The officials were courteous and after talking to him for some time one of officers casually asked the name of the university from which he graduated. Dakshina  thought for a minute. He usually got all the materials needed for the shop from Parry’s Corner and whenever he took the number 21N bus  the bus conductor used to call out ‘Madras University stop’. So Dakshina  happily said it was Madras University. When the man wanted to confirm it again and he repeated the same answer. How did the poor fellow know there were umpteen numbers of universities flourishing in India? The officer told him that his papers say that he was a graduate from Karnataka University and told him that it was a case of fraudulence and he could be arrested any moment.

“ Amma, I didn’t know what to do. I just prostrated myself in front of the officers and begged them not to hand over me to the police in which case my whole family would commit suicide and told that I don’t want to step into their country anymore. I don’t know how it happened. Lord Kapali should have been dictating terms from inside them. They reprimanded me and threatened me but at the end allowed to go free.

We got our tailor back on the old conditions of extreme delay and compensating smiles!!