Tucked away among the flashy designer stores at Colaba Causeway in downtown Bombay is a small, quaint shop selling the most exquisite and elegant linen. There is no fancy signboard here, just a simple hoarding that reads ‘Dit’. You will also not find any fanciful shelves or display racks either. Except for select items that are pinned onto panels behind the counters, the rest are merely stacked under them. The shop was started in 1942 by Mrs. Josephine Mendes whose pet name is Dit, thus the name of the shop. The 88-year-old lady who began her career as a seamstress at the store still manages the place. Except that now her son Frank helps in sourcing the goods and looking after the business in her absence. What you find here is probably not found anywhere in the city. Sure, there are department stores and designer boutiques that sell linen and tablewear, but the craftmanship and the quality of the products sold here is by far the finest. And yet, so little is known about Dit.

The products range from old fashioned runners, tablecloths, dressing table sets, kettle holders, pelmet covers, cocktail napkins, luncheon sets and bed covers to trendy drip mats, sandwich covers, tray cloths, handkerchiefs, hand towels, doilies, coasters and teapoy covers. But it is the variety available at Dit that is simply elegant and eye-catching. If pure white cut-work is not your taste, you could pick something in shadow work in the prettiest of colours. Or pin lace in ivory and beige, cross-stitch in the brightest hues and patchwork in soft pastels.

The products are all Indian made sourced from all over the country. From Bombay, from the North, from Cochin, Chennai, Pondicherry, from Kolkata even from distant Tripura in the North East. “Everything sold is hand made...“ said Mr. Frank Mendes, “that’s what makes them special. Anything that is machine made, we reject totally.“

It’s been some time since Mrs. Mendes has travelled to source products. “It’s this September 11 incident that has caused this recession,” she said shaking her head. The tourists who visit tell us that for the same items they have to pay twice as much, sometimes thrice in their country.”

The sprightly Mrs. Mendes takes pride in decorating her store window. On antique little teapoys and stands, the cross-stitch hand towels and runners are hung, making it the prettiest store window along the Causeway. “The Parsees are our biggest clients, then there are Catholics and the Gujaratis who buy in bulk for wedding trousseaus,” she said.

Every product is exquisite but the white cross-stitched hand towels sold at Rs. 125 each sell the best. Then, there are the punch work tablecloths in pastel colours priced between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 13,000. Tablecloths in shadow work, cut work and patch work are priced between Rs. 1,200 to Rs. 12,000. Bedspreads are priced between Rs. 1,800 to a whopping Rs. 15,000 depending on the work involved, tray cloths are between Rs. 85 to Rs. 800 and runners are between Rs. 250 to Rs. 1,500. And prices for handkerchiefs, every woman’s favourite accessory, start at Rs. 75 and go upto Rs. 1,500.

The ever gracious Mrs. Mendes does not mind customers simply walking in to look at the products, even if they don’t buy anything. “After all,” she said, “I cannot expect everyone to buy something. Even if they are happy just looking, it’s fine with me.”

Dit, 1 A, Glamour House,
Opp. Standard Auto Services,
Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Colaba,
Bombay 400 005.
Tel No: 022-283 2523.