Geetanjali Krishna: The old curiosity shop

I'm looking for Lord Shiva's hair," said one perfectly normal looking man to another.

I happened to overhear the conversation as he and I were jostling each other for standing space in a narrow lane in Old Delhi's Kinari Bazaar.

The other fellow, instead of looking as surprised as I was feeling, replied, "do you want them knee or ankle length? Matted or loose? I also have a special set of hair with built in snakes "" but it'll cost you more!"

The customer sighed and said that he'd take a look and then decide. They both ducked into a dark shop, and I followed curiously.

Inside the dim shop, festooned with heads, limbs, weapons and wigs of descriptions too weird to even write about here, I saw the two men engaged in an animated discussion about the merits and demerits of a wig in a particularly vivid orange.

"Here's the beard to match," said the shop owner, putting on a menacing mop on his lip. The deal was immediately struck.

Mission accomplished, he turned to me and asked what I wanted. I arbitrarily asked for masks. He promptly reeled off a staggeringly long list, and I soon found myself in proud possession of a tiger and a Ganesha mask.

Commercial matters out of the way, I asked him to tell me about himself and his shop of wonders.

"We have been in this shop in Kinari Bazaar for generations," said Rajeev Jain, the present owner, "but while my ancestors sold pure gold and silver thread, zari, we shifted to this line of business when there were no takers left for real zari."

Today, his shop stocks a huge variety of fancy dresses, wigs, crowns, weapons, masks and many other curiosities. Other than wigs, which they outsource, most of their merchandise is made under their own supervision.

"There are few other proper shops for these kinds of things," said Jain proudly, adding, "over the years, we've supplied to many filmmakers, TV serial makers, schools, Ram Lilas and thousands of children wanting unusual fancy dresses."

"So is this period between Dusshera and Diwali the time you do the best business?" I asked, looking at the Ravana heads and weapons still hanging on the walls, days after Dusshera.

"This is a good time, but we do business the year round," said Jain. He explained, "after Diwali comes Children's Day on 14th November, when most schools have functions and need costumes."

"Then, we gear up for Christmas, making Santas, Santa hats, stockings and trees. After that comes Holi in March-April, when revelers go in for our speciality masks and wigs. Then, through the year, we get orders for fancy dresses and for birthday party themes."

Apart from this, he said he also kept good quality wigs for club dancers and for bald people.

While I was looking at an imposingly gleaming range of weaponry, a man entered the shop and said, "Do you have a Charlie Chaplin dress?"

Jain helpfully said, "I'll just cut up a moustache to size for you. Get the hat from the shop behind this one, and as for the suit "" just wear your own!"

For earlier columns visit https://bsmedia.business-standard.compeoplelikethem.com