A made-to-measure cap for the President from Himachal’s Solan

Ambika Sharma in Solan

The traditional made-in-India handcrafted caps — a rich variety of them — have come to occupy a pride of place among style aficionados as well as commoners. One of them is the woollen Himachali cap vying to fit the head of dignitaries. Sangat Singh Pundir (62), a Solan-based small entrepreneur, would tell you how President Ram Nath Kovind took a liking for the cap manufactured by him, wearing one during the Republic Day parade. 

It was early last month when Shimla MP Virender Kashyap gifted a few Himachali caps to the President, given Kovind’s passion for the traditional ‘topi’. Impressed, the President showed interest in seeing the manufacturer. That mid-January meeting was a watershed for the former fire officer who started off with only Rs 5,000 in 2002, selling a cap for Rs 12. 

“When I saw the President wearing a Himachali cap manufactured by me, I felt greatly honoured. It is the best appreciation an artisan can earn,” says Pundir. The President told him his requirements such as the brimless cap’s maroon padding to make it stand 2.75 inches around the head as against the usual 3.5 inches, plus specifications about the circumference and the shape. “The fact that the President wanted to wear it on the Republic Day brought in a new challenge as the work was time-bound,” recalls Pundir. 

Pundir had some idea as to what could suit a man of such a high stature. In April last year, state BJP leaders had gifted a muffler prepared by Pundir in an intricate Kinnauri pattern to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The PM wore it during his visits abroad,” says Pundir.

For the President, he arranged the best material – sheep wool procured from shepherds in Kullu and Rampur -- and stitched four caps of varied Himachali patterns: two each in grey and white base. “This gave the President a fair choice.” Pundir does not come from a family of artisans. As a fire officer, his heart lay somewhere else. He discovered an artisan in him in 1990 when he was transferred to Kullu. He met a local artisan, Dugle Ram, a traditional weaver of sheep wool. “I would spend hours with him after office in acquainting myself with the skills. I slept for barely three hours,” says Pundir.

He took voluntary retirement from his government job in 2002 and ventured into the handicraft business at Solan. Pundir had to struggle for years before he could learn the nitty-gritty of the trade and establish himself. Today he boasts of an annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh and has employed three women workers. His has a showroom in the town exhibiting his work. 

Himachali caps have become synonymous with political parties: the maroon one signifies the BJP and the green is identified with the Congress. The woollen material used is traditionally woven in handlooms in Kullu and a few other districts. The visiting dignitaries in the state are customarily honoured with these caps.