100 hours to Jaipur
I do a lot of work with block printers and tie-dyers in Jaipur. Last year when I visited them, I had a wonderful time seeing their work and experiencing their hospitality. I was both shocked and sad to hear the news about the bomb blasts in this colourful and diverse city. My heart goes out to the people of Jaipur and especially to those who lost family and friends.
I’m often told that I like to do things the complicated way. A whole lot of this has to do with my focus on getting things right (translation: perfect). But in my defense, my methods are perceived as complicated because the systems I have to go through are riddled with hurdles. Even something simple like sending a package via courier can get really tricky.
Take the case of my relationship with my mud-resist block printer in Jaipur. Their work is very creative and their colour combinations are beautiful. However I do not care too much for their cotton fabric. It’s certainly not bad for the sixty rupees per metre they charge for their printed fabric, but it doesn’t have the smooth polish of mill-made mercerized fabric or the interesting texture of certain handwoven fabrics. So what I do is I buy a more expensive mill-made cotton fabric from an Arvind Mills distributor in Chennai and then courier it to my supplier for printing.
My supplier doesn’t have a good way of keeping track of orders like mine where the order comes with fabric that has to be paired with the corresponding design/print order. The more complicated part however, is reaching the fabric to my supplier.
The first time I sent the fabric to my supplier via speed post. The government speed post is kind of like the tortoise in a race with no hare. I mean, the package will each its destination, but not in a hurry. Chennai to Jaipur took 3 weeks. They charged Rs 50 per kilogram.
The second time I decided to try this really shady service that charged Rs 10 per kg from Chennai to Jaipur via train. Now I regret the allure of “cheap and best” because I ended up paying Rs 20 per kg to have the package door delivered to my supplier (which they finally didn’t do), plus here in Chennai I had to deliver the package to their office near the railway station. This wasn’t half as bad as the constant calling and tracking I had to do before I called up my supplier and explained my embarrassing situation. He eventually picked up the package himself from the courier office in Jaipur. Chennai to Jaipur took 3 days, and another week before my supplier picked it up.
The third time I wanted to go with GATI, a well known and reputed courier service. One of my suppliers in Hyderabad sends my orders via GATI and although they are fairly expensive, they are supposed to be reliable. If only it were that simple - GATI wanted me to get a road permit signed by my supplier with his sales tax number printed on the form. Considering my suppliers are based out of remote villages near Jaipur, this is another 3 weeks added to the ordering process. No thanks, GATI.
If cost wasn’t an issue I would use Blue Dart- both fast and reliable- but courier costs alone would force me to double the price of my final garment.
So finally I sent my package through Skylark Express. Rs 30 per kg, door delivery to my supplier, no road permit required, and it will take 3 to 4 days.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
I’m often told that I like to do things the complicated way. A whole lot of this has to do with my focus on getting things right (translation: perfect). But in my defense, my methods are perceived as complicated because the systems I have to go through are riddled with hurdles. Even something simple like sending a package via courier can get really tricky.
Take the case of my relationship with my mud-resist block printer in Jaipur. Their work is very creative and their colour combinations are beautiful. However I do not care too much for their cotton fabric. It’s certainly not bad for the sixty rupees per metre they charge for their printed fabric, but it doesn’t have the smooth polish of mill-made mercerized fabric or the interesting texture of certain handwoven fabrics. So what I do is I buy a more expensive mill-made cotton fabric from an Arvind Mills distributor in Chennai and then courier it to my supplier for printing.
My supplier doesn’t have a good way of keeping track of orders like mine where the order comes with fabric that has to be paired with the corresponding design/print order. The more complicated part however, is reaching the fabric to my supplier.
The first time I sent the fabric to my supplier via speed post. The government speed post is kind of like the tortoise in a race with no hare. I mean, the package will each its destination, but not in a hurry. Chennai to Jaipur took 3 weeks. They charged Rs 50 per kilogram.
The second time I decided to try this really shady service that charged Rs 10 per kg from Chennai to Jaipur via train. Now I regret the allure of “cheap and best” because I ended up paying Rs 20 per kg to have the package door delivered to my supplier (which they finally didn’t do), plus here in Chennai I had to deliver the package to their office near the railway station. This wasn’t half as bad as the constant calling and tracking I had to do before I called up my supplier and explained my embarrassing situation. He eventually picked up the package himself from the courier office in Jaipur. Chennai to Jaipur took 3 days, and another week before my supplier picked it up.
The third time I wanted to go with GATI, a well known and reputed courier service. One of my suppliers in Hyderabad sends my orders via GATI and although they are fairly expensive, they are supposed to be reliable. If only it were that simple - GATI wanted me to get a road permit signed by my supplier with his sales tax number printed on the form. Considering my suppliers are based out of remote villages near Jaipur, this is another 3 weeks added to the ordering process. No thanks, GATI.
If cost wasn’t an issue I would use Blue Dart- both fast and reliable- but courier costs alone would force me to double the price of my final garment.
So finally I sent my package through Skylark Express. Rs 30 per kg, door delivery to my supplier, no road permit required, and it will take 3 to 4 days.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Labels: block printing, costing, courier, transportation
posted by Anaka at
10:26 PM
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