Located in Borivali in the western suburbs of Mumbai is the Kora Gramodyog Kendra, one of the oldest makers of the national flag. The workshop now is a pale shadow of its past glory.
When I visited them several years ago on the eve of an Independence Day, the centre was buzzing with activity. Abdul Gaffur, head of the stiching department then, showed me around the place. Like his father who had worked at the centre for about 50 years, Abdul was a veteran with about 30 years of service. His words and actions conveyed the pride he took in his work.
Cut to the present. The verandah that was buzzing with workers hardly has two-three people shuffling around. After a little while, Gaffur came out to greet me. The spring in Gaffur's steps was missing. He said flag work had stopped due to shutting down of their printing unit Purnima dyeing in Goregaon and shortage of workers who print the Ashoka Chakra. A few skilled workers who were trained to stitch the flag had left for their village due to lack of work. The Kendra now just sells from its reserve stock, piled up over the years. Gaffur then went on to tell me that from stiching flags, the work has shifted to making khadi bags that are outsourced to various companies.
Text and Pictures by Paul Noronha