After seeing off the customer, Gajendra details the longdrawn process. He says, “After washing and drying bamboo sticks, frames are woven for the umbrellas to be covered with cotton or velvet cloth. Every decorative element on it is handmade, from the elephants to the gold or silver strips that run through it—the outlines are traced and cut manually. The sizes of these umbrellas can go up to six feet,” he says. 

The umbrellas are part of the offerings by devotees, who sometimes keep the family tradition of making the offers on special occasions. The bigger ones are made for temple festivals. Gajendra says, “I make these umbrellas for the Parthasarathy Swamy Temple in Triplicane and also for Kapaleeswarar Temple and the Amman Temple in Thiruverkadu. In fact, I take up orders even for Garuda Sevai in Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati.” Gajendra says during a good month, he earns up to Rs 80,000. 

Shas are Saurashtrians, who were traditionally known as the ‘pattunoolkaras’, owing to their silk-weaving business, which has been passed down generations. Born and raised in an environment steeped in the craft, the entire family is involved in the making of the temple decorations. 

A few shops away, Gajendra’s first cousin Shyam Sundar (44), who exclusively makes the umbrellas, especially for the Kandasamy Kovil, operates out of his small unit. His business is in full swing between February and October, before the annual lull in the later months.