KASHMIRI PANDIT

A KASHMIRI PANDIT TAILORING SHOP IN BATYAAR ALI KADAL SRINAGAR You can see the Tailor Master at work with his SINGER FOOT PEDAL SEWING MACHINE while a group of Pandits are seated on the shop front and busy in gossiping and posing for the photograph. There was a problem for Boys engaged in this business when they had to look for a match to get married . Kashmiri Pandit society considered this business as something inferior and later shunned this occupation.altogether..

But then again ,Some time around 1940 , Lamboodhar Nath Tikoo , An educated and enterprising kashmiri Pandit , belonging to an affluent and infuential family, surprised his community members when he opened a tailoring shop under the name and style of “ NAVYUG TAILORS ” at Habba Kadal Srinagar. Pandit Kashyap Bandhu , A reformist leader amongst Kashmiri Pandits during those days was also invited for the opening cermony of this shop at Habba Kadal.To attract VIP and European customers , the business location was immediately shifted to Amira Kadal in Srinagar City . Son of an Engineer who had built BC road during Maharaja's rule, Lamboodhar Nath went to Bombay to study engineering but returned to valley after learning professional Tailoring . He would cater to VIP customers and was much in demand for stitching stylish suits, Tweed coats and shirts. Very soon, NAVYUG TAILORS opened another branch at Residency Road in Srinagar city. Some Muslim Boys, who worked as Apprentices at these shops , became excellent Tailor masters and opened independent tailoring shops in city . Pandit Triloki Nath Tikoo , a young kashmiri pandit with modern outlook , joined his brother Lamboodhar Nath Tikoo in this venture from day one . For Tikoo brothers , it was also a step towards reforming the community and motivating youth for starting such like business ventures that were traditioonally shunned . Tikoo family was from Reshi Peer Mohalla in downtown Srinagar .Pandit Laxman Joo Tikoo ( their father) felt sad and disillusioned at the venture of his sons . Lamboodhar Nath had to start an Urdu Newspaper “ NAVYUG “ simultaneously to protect his father from recurring satires from relations and friends for this Tailoring venture looked down upon by orthodox kashmiri Pandit society during those days. Young Nand lal Wattal ( who later joined as editor of Urdu newspaper Khidmat ) from Rainawari was brought in as Editor of this news paper . Tailoring Business of Tikoo brothers was directly hit by the second world war as most of their European clients had moved out of kashmir . The tribal raid of 1947 dried up almost all thye residual clientele for NAVYUG TAILORS .The News Paper had to be closed down for various reasons . "NAVYUG TAILORS "also pulled down its shutters permanently after sometime ..

Hira Kak