Grandmas from two worlds doing their bit

Chaitali Patel

On my last visit home, while rummaging through a stash of family photographs, I chanced upon a picture of my sister dressed in a bright patchwork dress. When I showed the 40-year-old sepia photograph to my mother, she was quick to point out that my sister was wearing a dress that she had made with samples of fabric brought home by my uncle. My family was into the business of dyes and textiles, and fabric swatches were always lying around the house. There were so many, that these were generously given away to anyone who cared to take them.

A few weeks ago in a photograph that was shared in my family WhatsApp group, those cloth samples from eons ago made another appearance. This time, a distant relative, 83-year old Ramaben Patel, was using those pieces to make masks in Detroit, USA. It was a conversation with her niece who was making a mask at home for her personal use which inspired Ramaben to make masks. Having learnt sewing from her mother, Ramaben was always fond of stitching clothes for her family. Her daughter, Sejal, lent a helping hand, and the two together have made 250 masks. As Covid-19 spread rapidly through the US and the demand for masks grew, they started making masks for a local doctor’s office, and later for the grocery store run by Sejal’s husband. Every customer who walked into the store without a mask was given one free.

The octogenarian took those fabric swatches from India to the US hoping to make a handbag, but when the pandemic struck, she found that they lent perfectly to making masks. Besides those samples, they use fabric sourced from a local store. Once the masks are stitched, these are washed in hot water, dried and ironed. A batting fabric is used at the back of every mask that acts as a filter. They also shipped a box of masks to Florida, to one of their friends who wasn’t able to source any locally.

In Pune, another mother-daughter duo, are doing their bit to combat the ever growing demand for masks. Seventy-three-year-old Shobha Kalbag and her daughter Amita, have made more than 1,000 masks and donated these to a local NGO, Punyadham Ashram. The NGO, in turn, distributes these masks to municipal hospitals, Army hospitals and the local police station.

Forced to be indoors because of the nationwide lockdown, Kalbag senior, decided to use her fondness for stitching to help those on the frontline, many of whom could not find a basic mask to use. On an average, Amita and her mother make anywhere between 30 and 60 masks, depending on the time they have to spare. While her mother does all the stitching, Amita helps with the cutting and folding. Punyadham Ashram supplies them with soft cotton fabric.

Community service comes naturally to both ladies. Kalbag senior used to volunteer with a school for children for special needs, teaching the students embroidery. Amita works with the ashram as chief coordinator.

Amita says they hope to keep going for as long as they can. Their Usha sewing machine broke down recently, but that only caused a temporary break, as her father was able to fix the problem and get it up and running soon enough.