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MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS
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TAILORING
Tailoring shops are found in the rural as well as urban areas in the district. In fact, tailor has been since long an indispensable unit of society. It is also an important avenue of employment for
a considerable number of persons. Till recently tailoring was a hereditary occupation followed mostly by the people of the Shimpi community. In modern times, the hereditary nature of the occupation is fast vanishing as people have a tendency to choose any occupation which provides them with sufficient income.
The tailors in towns are found to be proficient and well-versed in adopting changing fashions. In Ahmadnagar district, the sample survey revealed that there were a few shops of a fairly big size.
In 1961 Census, the services grouped under the category " tailors, cutters, furriers and related workers" were recorded at 5,256 (4,625 males and 631 females). Of these, 1,511 persons (1,331 males, 180 females) were in urban areas, whereas 4,659 (3,248 males, 1,411 females), i.e., about 89 per cent belonged to the rural areas.
It was found that while a small tailoring shop had only one sewing machine, a medium-sized shop owned four or five sewing machines. The cost of a sewing machine ranged from Rs. 350 onwards, depending upon the type and durability of the same.
The fixed capital of a tailoring shop varied from Rs. 600 to Rs. 5,000.
Some of the employees were paid at piece-rates while others were paid on salary basis. A medium-sized tailoring shop employed about one to four artisans. In Pathardi, it was found that the labourers were given half of the earnings that accrued to the establishment. Monthly wages per labourer averaged at about Rs. 80. The stitching charges varied from place to place and also from one tailor to another according to the skill and reputation acquired by him.
The gross income of a medium-sized shop ranged between Rs. 10 and Rs. 25 per day, while that of a small tailoring shop ranged between Rs. 6 and Rs. 10 per day. An ordinary tailor in the town earned from Rs. 250 to Rs. 350 per month while his counterpart in villages earned about Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 per month.
Tailoring business is brisk during fairs, festivals and ceremonies, while the demand for the services of a tailor falls during rainy season.
At the time of the sample survey, there were thirty tailoring shops at Shrigonda, forty at Karjat, about thirty-five at Pathardi and ten at Parner.
It was found that all tailoring shops were established in rented premises and the rent paid by the tailors varied from Rs. 20 to Rs. 35 per month.
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