It was 10 am and the streets of Perambur was bustling with people who were setting out for work. There were a bunch of women lined up outside Baharulla Tailoring shop, who were watching in awe a very prim and smart lady who was briefing her attentive team of three on what their job roles for the day were.
Meet Shajitha Hathiri, a 45 year old “designer/ tailor” who has set up her dream store amidst the numerous hurdles she has faced in life.A 10th standard dropout who belongs to a conservative family of tailors, grew up watching her mother design and stitch clothes that her favorite movie stars wore. With no formal introduction in this field, she started out by hemming clothes and doing small alterations that her mother would ask her to do.
She’s now a proud owner of a 6 year old store with an experience of over 25 years in the field of tailoring. She proudly claims her store to be exclusively for women. Starting from small handkerchiefs to chudidhars, simple blouses to designer wedding blouses, she updates herself on the latest and trends and uses her expertise to make every customer happy with her work.
She has also employed three other people who help her with cutting, stitching and hemming.All of this wasn’t a cake walk for her. She had her fair share of struggles that she had fought to keep her passion alive. Post marriage she was struggling to etch an identity for herself. With the support from her family, she slowly started giving life to her passion and kick started her career.Equitas was happy to support Shajitha by providing her loans for her to keep updating her tailoring machines.
She never compromises on the quality and hence replaces her machines periodically and maintains them with utmost care and prefers to only rely on Equitas bank as it provides low interest rates and easy repayment options. She’s now setting an example to all the women in her circle and is a proud member of the Tamilnadu Thaiyarkalai Thozhilalargal Munnetra Sangam. Apart from having her own shop, she now trains other women to pursue this art of tailoring. when asked about her aspirations , she replied – “ I want more stocks and material for me to work on and a bigger working space with better ambience and a fancy setup.
Equitas has always been there throughout my growth journey – a support system to my business. I hope to have a continued relationship with Equitas Bank.”We salute women like Shajitha for being change-makers, and bringing about a positive transformation- both in their lives and in the mindset of the society.To be a part of the Equitas family, visit www.equitasbank.com
