Spencer Plaza, one of the oldest shopping malls in the country, is now probably just a remnant of the British Raj. But, a horde of Kashmiri Muslim merchants have kept the place buzzing with activity for decades now, despite other shops moving out to more feasible locations after the advent of modern-age malls

Rows of shops dot the maze of floors at the Spencer Plaza that otherwise bears a desolate look, except for one thing: goodwill drives trade despite tough competition. S A Shawl of Master Collections explains, “So many shops have shut down over the years, especially in the last decade. But, I have a stream of customers at my store and they are not just the foreign clients.”

Shawl, like most of the other shop owners is from Srinagar, Kashmir and has been a resident of Chennai for the last two decades. For many generations now, the Shawl family has been engaged in handicrafts. “We had the license from the British government in those days. Our family name, Shawl, indicates our occupation,” he adds.

Quite a few procure the handicrafts from Kashmir, he explains, “It is a labour-intensive sector and it takes many days for us to manufacture one handicraft item. And, it has a long procedure involved as well.”

Jewel Mine, another shop that is popular among the local shoppers and foreign clientele is a hotspot for its exclusive handicrafts, shawls, gold and silver jewellery. Parvez Ahmed Khan, owner, Jewel Mine, shares his views on the consistent popularity of Kashmiri handicrafts among the crowd. “The reason why none of the handicrafts shops moved out of Spencer is because of the places popularity among the foreign crowd. They come here because it doesn’t have a European or American feel to it.”

He adds that it is impossible to run a unit in Chennai, though it might possibly save much of costs for the shop owners.  “For many, it is easier to procure the handicrafts and other items like carpets and shawls from Kashmir,” he says rather ruefully.

Shabarat Sidiq who runs Aarasz, another Kashmiri emporium explains why Spencer is the ideal set up for many like him.

“Over the years, emporiums have thrived because of their appeal among foreign clients. There are close to 72 shops here and everyone has an exclusive client,” he says.

With the fashion boom that has spread even to a traditional city like Chennai, emporiums have benefitted from the sudden surge in demand. Shawl says, “Even college girls in Chennai are now keen on the original pashmina shawls.”

Khan echoes similar thoughts and says, “Earlier, Chennai’s customers were interested only in gold but today we see people like to invest even in gems.” Now they are open to spending on new things,” he laughs.

However, there has been a 70 per cent decline in the production because of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), over the past 5 years, says Shawl. “That has directly affected the manufacturing of handicrafts. Labourers don’t want to engage in the process as the act has a provision to provide them with the basic amount.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Janani Sampath – Chennai / April 01st, 2013