In the early days, Tailors were workers hired by people to who had special occasions like Weddings etc to sew garments for the bride to be and her relatives.the bride would take these clothes with her to her husbands house on wedding to commence her new life.. These Tailors moved from house to house and village to village performing their trade and earned their livelihood sewing clothes for those who hired them. With the migration of many Christian Goans to Africa, the work soon was uneconomical for them and they in turn migrated to Africa where they found a ready market for their trade.
I hate those like jc who accused me of demeaning the Indians when he in turn demeans his own Goan brethren Tailor by bringing up their lack of education in the English Language in a demeaning way. In spite of this shortcoming, these talented and industrious folk worked hard and provided for their families by doing the very best work as Tailors. I need not remind readers that in the British social strata, Tailors were considered middle class. Tailors children have also excelled in every sphere and to their credit they are not ashamed to say that their father was a tailor and they still Celebrate the feast of St Francis Xavier their patron saint and the patron saint of Goa. Tailors were mainly from Salcete and with their very limited English, Cooks, Butlers and Bartenders were mainly from Bardez. The Main body of Goan migrants were however Clerks in the civil service and in the private sector. These clerks were very fortunate to have these Goan Tailors who stitched their suits by hand and made them appropriately dressed for the nature of work which they were performing. The Goan Tailor fulfilled a vital role in making suits and dressing the Goan Clerk appropriately. There were some who, even with their lack of education in English, were respected by not only Goans but by Europeans and Indians and latterly the African, who also patronized them, for their professionalism and perfection in making suits. I remember Alleluia Fernandes and Luis Fernandes who used to work as a cutter for Ahmed Brothers and used to have clients fly in from Europe to have their suits tailored by this firm and the chief cutter was of course (Mor) Luis Fernandes. Other famous tailors were Miguel Robin Fernandes, and Mr. Alfonso who had their own Tailoring establishments whose clientele consisted of European, Asian, and African customers. It is a pity that after independence, these tailors either returned to Goa or went to Europe and North America and did not pursue their trade there. I can assure you that the workmanship of these Tailors was of the very finest quality and the prices charged by them were very reasonable. It is true that the very clerks whom these Tailors served, denied them membership into their Social Clubs Like the Goan Institute , the Railway Goan Institute, and the Goan Gymkhana. They however formed their own club Called the Goan Tailor Society and did not miss having fun among themselves and not denying anyone who wanted to join in. The Cooks, Butlers and Barmen were also denied membership to the clerk's clubs and formed their own club called the Santa Cruz Club.The Cooks and butlers were also much respected as they produced the finest menus in all the top hotels and on board the trains and ships of the East African Railways and Harbours.The bartenders also could shake up some mean cocktails. Others could enhance my meager portrayal of these downtrodden Goans who were pioneers in East Africa and should have their place in history for their significant if not forgotten chapter in the cycle of Goan migration.
