By Shweta Thakur, IANS
New Delhi : You can snuggle in its pocket and take a nap, enter from its neckline and sneak out of its sleeves accompanied by a friend. Welcome to the ‘biggest shirt’ in India, as tall as a two-storeyed building.
This 20-feet-long and over 10-feet-wide shirt is the realisation of a big dream by Mahtab Alam, a small businessmen in Phusro, a small town in Jharkhand.
“I always wanted to do something different. I often read in newspapers and watched on television about people doing something unique and I wanted to be one of them,” Alam, who was in the capital to apply for a place in the Limca Book of Records, told IANS.
“One day it just clicked me, why not make a shirt in whose pocket I can sleep. This way I will be famous and even make the country proud,” he said.
The shirt has floral motifs in shades of black, red and beige on a black base. It is wrinkle free and can be home washed.
Its pocket measures 3.4 x 4.2 feet, collar 7 feet, sleeves 14 x 5 feet and cuffs 5 x 1.8 feet. The shoulders are 6.8 feet long. For buttons, 17 carom board strikers have been drilled into the cloth.
The 28-year-old grocery shop owner, who is also a tailor, invested Rs.10,000 and after working continually for four hours every day for six days he completed the shirt, which weighs over 10 kg.
Crafting the giant shirt wasn’t an easy task.
“I had to arrange 100 metres of cloth, which was eight inches wider than the normal one utilised to make shirts. Also, there was no space to cut such a large spread so I chose my terrace to do it,” Alam said.
Afraid of disapproval from his family members, Alam kept his project a secret. Even those who came to know about his passion weren’t supportive.
“I knew my family would never agree to it hence I didn’t tell them anything. Those who knew about it said that I am mad,” he said.
But once the shirt was complete he earned rave reviews from his critics.
“After it was complete I showed it to my family and friends. To my amazement they were happy and proud of me,” beamed Alam, who also wants to apply to the Guinness Book of World Records