Measured Words and a Well-Measured Jubba

Alappuzha

That voice from fifteen years ago still echoes in Carlos’s ears. It was during the days he ran a tailoring shop beside the national highway, north of the Iron Bridge in Alappuzha. One day, a car stopped in front of his shop. As he stood watching in surprise at the person stepping out, the man walked straight into his shop with a familiar, drawn-out greeting: "Aasaané."

It was none other than V S Achuthanandan, the man Carlos deeply respected. For a moment, he thought it must be a dream. Without much small talk, VS handed over the fabric for a jubba and asked for his measurements. Carlos, with trembling hands and immense pride, took his measurements as VS stood tall, chest forward, holding his breath.

The same measurements taken that day were used by Carlos to stitch jubbas for VS ever since. Every time he changed his notebook, he would faithfully copy VS’s measurements into the new one.

A few years ago, a small change was made to the size, following a call from VS’s home saying a little more room was needed. Until then, the jubbas were always stitched to fit closely to the body.

Even the pocket of the jubba had its own significance—it had to be cut and stitched in harmony with the overall shape of the garment.

The last jubba Carlos stitched for VS was in 2019, when he came to offer floral tributes at the Punnapra Martyrs’ Memorial. Now 67, Chathanad native Chetti Velikkakam Carlos continues to sew from his home.

In the early days, Carlos used to personally deliver the jubbas to VS’s home. If VS was there, he would invite him in. Carlos would bring a cake and a jubba during Christmas. One more for Onam. Not once did VS fail to pay for a jubba—he never let Carlos leave without payment.

Carlos also remembers when that endearing "Aasaané" stopped. After some time, VS began addressing him simply as "Carlos." In the later days, it was Udayakumar from his personal staff who would come to collect the jubbas.

Word had spread that Carlos was the one stitching VS's jubbas. Many people started visiting his shop, even from far-off places like Pala, he recalls.