Back Godown Street - a textile paradise in tatters
Nina Varghese
A view of textile shops on Godown Street in Chennai. — Bijoy Ghosh
Chennai , Aug. 23
THERE are men standing outside each shop at Godown Street, once the hub of the textile business in South India, trying to coax customers into the shops selling a wide range of textiles.
The chorus of `saris, salwar kameez, shirting, suiting ... very latest, best quality, cheap rate ... ' accompanies one right down the street.
It is also a reflection on the state of affairs at Godown Street. The wholesale business here has been going down steadily for the past 10 years, for a variety of reasons. The shopkeepers are trying hard to get some customers into their shops.
The downhill process started with wholesale markets coming up in Madurai, Tiruchi, and Coimbatore, says Mr K. Selvan, a shop owner. Earlier, the textile merchants from these towns sourced all their requirements from here, he adds.
Now, even the large retailers within the city are dealing directly with manufacturers in Surat, Bhiwandi, and Mumbai - to name a few manufacturing hubs.
Earlier, the entire street catered only to the wholesale trade, he says. Nobody entertained walk-in customers. Now we need them but they don't remember us, he adds.
Godown Street has also been hit by the high-decibel advertising by textile retailers in Chennai such as Pothys and Chennai Silks. Customers prefer to pay more at these large shops with air conditioning, display and shopping comfort, rather than come to Godown Street, says Mr Selvan.
The main customers at Godown Street are the ones who operate small businesses out of their homes. A number of old companies buy their uniform material from the equally old shops on this street.
Mr S. Ponnambalam, President of The Madras Piecegoods Merchants Association, said that goods here are at least 30-40 per cent cheaper than those sold in other shopping districts like T. Nagar or Puraswalkam, but that does not seem to make a difference.
Today's customers also want all their requirements under one roof. This is not the case at Godown Street, as each shop specialises in just one or two categories.
Godown Street in George Town was actually God's Own Street, which changed to Godown over time, according to Mr Ponnambalam. The street has been in existence for over 200 years and came into being because of its proximity to the port. Initially, there were about 60-70 shops; now there are over 800.
Mr Ponnambalam said that initially only imported textiles were available on the street. Then, with the swadeshi movement, the shops started stocking handlooms, poplins, and cottons.
Now, the trade has come full circle, stocking a lot of textiles imported from China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Pakistan.
Another reason for the business taking a beating is the shifting of the long-distance bus terminus and the Kotwal Chavadi wholesale vegetable market to Koyambedu, he said. It was easier those days, he added.
The small traders would get off the bus and enter the street for their purchases.
Mr Ponnambalam also said that it was not just the textile traders who were affected. All the businesses on six to seven streets after 1st Line Beach have been hit after the bus terminus was shifted.
The first traders on Godown Street were Muslims, followed by Telugu-speaking people, and then Tamilians. Today, almost 90 per cent of the shopkeepers are from the North, Mr Ponnambalam said.
Business at this street is mainly cash and carry. Credit is extended only to regular customers. None of the shops sport credit card stickers.
Though Mr Ponnambalam is a third-generation trader, almost 40 per cent of this generation has left India for better prospects. Even fewer numbers of the next generation would come into this business, he said. To start a new business in textiles here, one would require anything between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.
The Government has developed a large textile market in Koyambedu but no one has shifted there, Mr Ponnambalam said. Initially, 300 traders were willing to go there but that did not work out.
The main reason for not shifting was that the shops on all the floors were priced uniformly, so there was no incentive for anyone to go to the fourth floor. There was also a criterion that the shops could sell only textiles and not anything else, he said.
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