MESSAGE IN A TEE

When Bhavesh Sanghavi, 29, a construction material importer, decided that he needed to voice his individual protest against the state of affairs in the Indian government, he chose a rather unique medium. “I am not a politician; I cannot stand on a podium and demand positive changes to the way we live. And why would anyone listen to me if I suddenly started preaching anything?” says Sanghavi.

So, instead, he gave up his import business and started inking his thoughts and ideas onto T-shirts. Branded Bhashan (Hindi for ‘lecture’), each tee comes with a message, some highlighting the pitfalls of drunk driving, others offering a humorous take on corruption, all exhorting you to ‘change the system or question the state of your freedom’.

Most of the text messages and art work are Sanghavi’s own ideas, though he works with a team of four and a few freelancers working with him. The T-shirts are manufactured, printed and produced in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu.

“The quality of raw material and printing are best in that part of India,” says Sanghavi.

His order book has been seeing steady growth, from about 3,000 tees a month earlier this year to about 5,000 last month.

Retailing out of 58 stores across Mumbai and other parts of India, Sanghavi will open his flagship store in Matunga on October 15. Also in the pipeline is a plan to bring his designs and prints alive on kurtas.