The business of alterations has been in the Valse family for the past five generations. However, while the earlier Valses did alterations for all kinds of clothes from their home in Pimpri, when Rajesh joined the family business, he moved to Camp. And went in for specialisation. ``I zeroed in on jeans, as they seemed the most popular attire amongst people of all ages and were also the most common readymade item to come in for alterations,'' explains this 27-year-old, who also happens to be a science graduate.

``I just could not get a job that suited my academic qualifications. Then, around the same time, my brother, who was in the merchant navy, wanted to give up sailing and do something ashore. He offered to put up this shop for me. It's amusing how the same people who had once interviewed me for jobs and rejected me, frequently come to get alterations done, and end up raving about my talent. They don't remember me but I recognise them instantly,'' he grins.

So were the years in college a waste? ``Never. Qualifications are never a waste. In my case, my education comes in handy because I have many foreign clients and as compared to other tailors, I can converse better with them and convince them of the work needed to be done,'' he emphasises. In fact, Valse has even enrolled in Symbiosis for an LLB course this year. ``It's important to have educational degrees. To me, they are more valuable than money.''

Claiming to be the only `jeans specialist' in town, Rajesh has no qualms about conceding that he is perhaps a trifle more expensive than others. ``But that's because my quality is unrivalled. I save every piece of cloth that remains of the altered jeans, and use them for patching up another similar pair to avoid colour difference in the altered one. At times, I even add a design to make it better. I have this flair for alterations actually.'' A classic case of it all being in the jeans?