For finals, tailors made 300 metre-long Indian flag

For three days, 16 tailors turned their workshop into their home to stitch the flag in time

While many came out on the streets to celebrate India's victory over Pakistan on March 30, so did a group of 16 tailors in Vile Parle. But while everyone else returned home, the tailors went back to their sewing machines.


The 300 metre-long flag on the Shaan Flyover that connects SV
Road to the Western Express Highway. Pic/ Mahesh Chafe

For the next three days, in fact, they turned their workshop into their home. From that night onwards till the finals yesterday, none of the tailors visited their homes or slept beyond two hours at a stretch. And at the end of it, their wish come true: an Indian flag stretching over 300 metres, right on time for the finals. The flag was fixed yesterday on the Shaan Flyover, which connects SV Road to the Western Express Highway.

One of the tailors, Naushad Ansari explained, "The victory over Pakistan pumped us up and we danced in the streets for over an hour. So when our boss suggested the idea, we even managed to get the fabric required in the middle of the night."

Kishor Titta and Kashmira Joshi, who jointly own the export house where the tailors work, said the tailors did not even charge money for working overtime. "In return, we (Titta and Joshi) arranged for a projector on which to screen the finals for them and their families," said Titta.