ABU DHABI // M V Sivaraman arrived in Abu Dhabi when he was 24 years old on November 21, 1971, shortly before the country was founded.
More than 40 years later, he is now one of the best-known tailors in the capital.
“I don’t know any other work apart from stitching suits. I will keep doing this until my last breath,” he said.
Mr Sivaraman, who originates from Thrissur in Kerala state, is the eldest son of a security officer who worked in Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was then known, during 1940s and 50s.
“At that time, Ceylon was like the Gulf region,” said Mr Sivaraman. “Almost every family member in Kerala had someone working in Ceylon.”
After finishing a tailoring course, he moved to Mumbai when he was 18 in 1965.
“A few years later, my friend told me about a job opening in Abu Dhabi. I applied and finally my destiny brought me here.”
His first job was in a tailor’s shop on Hamdan Street, where he worked as a coat cutter and maker.
He worked very long hours for just Dh650 a month.
“I didn’t come here to work day and night. I always dreamt of owning a shop where I constantly stitch clothes. That’s why after switching few jobs, I started my own work,” he said.
Mr Sivaraman opened his first shop in 1978 in the Madinat Zayed area and there has been no looking back.
From his shop, Dabster Gents Tailoring & Textiles in the Madinat Zayed shopping mall, he is happy to make any style of suit, usually for about Dh600 to Dh1,200.
But what annoys him is when customers try to haggle over prices.
“I can follow any suit idea they wish to be made. But unnecessary money bargaining puts me in a difficult position, especially when I know I’m not expensive at all,” he said.
With a host of designer suit labels now on sale in the country, Mr Sivaraman is confident he can match these fashion houses.
“Many people prefer tailor made suits when compared to buying from high-end brands,” he said
My suits will always be better than these brands for all good reasons. They are not super expensive yet they are perfectly stitched according to your body measurement.
“There are many customers who bought these suits from big brands and then give it to me for alteration.”
Part of his service of helping his customers look their best is to offer them weight-loss tips.
“I feel very uncomfortable when I see unhealthy bodies. No matter, how well stitched suits I make, it won’t look good on my customer if he has a bad body shape,” he said.
“Everything looks good on a healthy body.”
Mr Sivaraman said that recently he promised one of his customers that if he loses 10 kilograms then he will make him a free suit.
To keep fit himself, Mr Sivaraman walks at least 10 kilometres every morning.
“That’s why I am still working hard with zeal and commitment. I am very conscious about my health and that’s why I don’t have any major disease. For me, my health is my asset that keeps me going,” he said. As for the future, Mr Sivaraman wants to stay in the country as long as he can.
“I know every expat has to go back home one day. But I don’t want to go. I can only work in the UAE,” he said.
“I have grown old with this country. I have given 45 years of my life here and I wish I die in my shop while stitching the suit of a client. Every suit is a part of my soul.”
akhaishgi@thenational.ae
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Royal Birkdale Golf Course
Location: Southport, Merseyside, England
Established: 1889
Type: Private
Total holes: 18
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
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