So, I waltz into the tea joint, aiming for a cuppa, only to stumble upon my childhood tailor, the legendary Rajesh. Memories flood in of the days when I inundated him with shirt orders. It's been eons.
"Long time, huh?" he quips.
Yeah I smiled.
You have your shop here? I asked.
"Yes, the rent for the last shop was too much. Now, I'm keeping the shop in front of my house. These days, business is down," he said.
I felt upset during those days. He used to give me Diwali shirts during Pongal. He wouldn't even have time to look me in the eyes while talking. Cutting the cloth with his hands, a pencil in his ears. If it was expensive cloth, he'd cut a piece and give me a card with details, attach another card with my information to the material using a pin, and throw it in a pile with other backlogs. Without lifting his head, he'd say, "Come later, I'll tell you when it'll be finished." We had to go two or three times to ensure he completed it.
I feared as he asked, "Sir, don't you get your clothes stitched these days?”
I replied, "No, these days it's just readymade.”
"These days, it's all readymade," added my friend.
"Readymade means it's a common size. If we stitch as per our size and body, and it fits perfectly, it's beautiful, right? Haha, those who know the pleasures of it will understand," says Tailor Rajesh.
"Those are old days. These days, clothes come in every size," says my friend.
"In how many sizes? I really don't know. For every one of the billions of people in this world, there are sizes? They will have 4 to 5 sizes, and we have to fit ourselves in it," says Rajesh.
I say to myself : Game on.
"These days, technology has come, Rajesh. In every size, there are shirts," I say.
"In every size?" he asks.
"Yes, everything is on the computer. If we get a shirt with a correct fit, they will know our name, address, and everything. They will collect those data. Like that, everyone's data is there in computers."
"Yes, everyone's fingerprint is also in the computer," says my friend.
But wouldn't a person grow? Asks Rajesh.
Yes it changes. Computer checks that too. If we go to a store and buy next year it will predict our size automatically and they also produce clothes based on our datas. It will be a perfect fit. I said.
Rajesh looks at everyone astonished and asks, "What if we become fat by eating too much that year?"
I jump in, "Yes, for that too, software is there. If we go to a grocery store, they give the details of what we eat to the computer. It will store that data. Everything is on the computer, Rajesh. No one has any secrets anymore.”
Tea master from behind says, "Oh, this is why the policeman comes and takes the photo CD from the ATM Machine so they can collect our sizes and photos of us.”
I can see the Tea master also becoming a boomer.
I say, “It's more than that, brother. When we walk in the streets, they take our pics. They will combine those all and insert them into the computer. If you have four red T-shirts, it will tell you'll get a red T-shirt next time too.”
Rajesh is astonished and says, "These days, there are no secrets. If we go to buy chappal, it will know our salary, where we work, when we bought the last chappal, when did it get torn—everything the computer will know. It will even tell us which chappal to buy. We just have to give money.”
Rajesh breathes out. "Ooof."
I say, "That's not it. Now, listen, we can also teach our kids which shirts are culturally good and which dresses are appropriate so they won't get sexually assaulted on the roads. It will teach our Indian culture."
"Technology is going way ahead. Abbbbaa," says Rajesh.
After I have my tea, I see Driver Dinesh coming towards me. "Perumal Boutique will have a dress for my wife, right?" he asks.
"Yes," I nod.
"So, they have every girl's size?" He asks. I nod again.
I wondered for whom he's going to buy now.
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