Chamoli: Even at the age of 82, this tailor from a small village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is going strong, following his passion for sewing and continuing an ancestral practice.
Chhililal can be spotted on most days sitting on a jute sack on the pavement in the marketplace at Vikas Kandh Ghat bent over his tailoring machine, busy stitching, mending or darning clothes.
The octogenarian tailor says he began sewing when he was 22 years old and has continued the profession with the same diligence and hard work ever since.
Four years ago he says he sustained head injuries in a road accident and many people thought that would be the end to his tailoring days.
However, his passion and dedication to his work led Chhililal to overcome his injuries and resume tailoring.
He can be called as the 'tailor of the gods'. He has been stitching clothes for idols of deities. Even today he gives splendour to the 'ghaghra' traditional costume of Goddess Gauri, one of the revered deities of Uttrakhand.
"It is my hobby and it is my art to sew the clothes that will then adorn the gods and goddesses. I am passionate about my work," says Chhililal.
The tailor has a son who owns a successful tailoring shop and a grandson who is the Army doing the job of protecting the country,
When asked why he continues to work even at this age, Chhililal says that in this modern era there remain very few tailors who can stitch the costumes that will be donned by the statues of gods and goddesses.
"In this rapidly changing age, people are forgetting their culture and traditions and since there are very few tailors who can sew costumes for the gods, I have decided to continue tailoring. Looking at my age, my son has asked me several times to discontinue working but as long as I am alive I will continue with my ancestral profession," says Chhililal.
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