Bengaluru menswear brand turns 100

A look at the history of P N Rao

The P N Rao store on M G Road.

It wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that the 100-year history of menswear brand, P N Rao, is tied closely with the sartorial evolution of Bengaluru.

When the founder, Pishe Narayan Rao, set up his haberdashery in 1923, it was nothing more than a small verandah. It was located on M G Road and was owned by the Plaza theatre family. Impressed by his success, they offered him a bigger space after a year. The rent was Rs 150. Their current M G Road outlet continues to occupy the same address.

Early days

Third-generation owner, Naveen Pishe, recalls stories his grandfather, Rao, would tell him of his early days running the business. “He was mainly tailoring dresses for British army officers’ wives. Annually, there were 15-20 races, and the ladies wanted a new dress for each race, because they didn’t want to be seen in the same one twice,” shares Naveen, adding that his grandfather also made wedding gowns for the British ladies. While most people believed that the Brits were stuck up and unkind, Rao had a contrasting opinion of them. “My grandfather did not see them that way. He would tell us how witty and jovial they were during their interactions. He also felt it was important to make his women clientele feel comfortable. He related how he made them laugh to put them at ease,” he shares.

Dressing the British

One of Ketan Pishe’s (Naveen’s cousin and another partner in the company) favourite stories is of how Rao won the contract to be the official tailor of the British garrison. One day in the early 1940s, Rao and a handful of other tailors were asked to present themselves at the barracks on Cavalry Road at 6 am for an interview. Rao turned up on the dot. He was the only one there and hence got the contract. When he stepped out, he saw the other tailors trying to get in. “They were late and so lost out on a great opportunity. My grandfather told us this story to illustrate the importance of punctuality,” shares Ketan.

However, towards the late 1940s, when India became independent and a majority of the Britishers left the country, they were forced to reinvent themselves to keep the business afloat. Rao’s son, Panduranga Pishe Rao, learnt men’s tailoring and once again the business took off. Naveen shares that the challenges didn’t stop there.

With the advent of ready-to-wear and cheaper options, business took a hit. However, they responded by introducing their own line of ready-to-wear garments. “Reinvention and innovation are key for any business. We learnt early on that the minute you stop innovating is the minute your business starts dying,” says Naveen.

Looking back

Naveen joined the company in 1991, and Ketan in 2006. The duo have seen the tailoring sector transform over the years. “When we were younger, tailors were looked down on. They were not respected. Now however, that has changed. People have realised the importance of dressing up and being presentable. They place a lot of value on well-tailored clothes,” explains Naveen.

On the other hand, the number of men’s tailors has reduced drastically. In the ‘90s there were at least 200 men’s tailors located on Brigade Road, Church Street, M G Road and Commercial Street, he says. “Now it’s down to a handful. I would compare it to a dying art form,” he shares.