Morbi's race against time

As collective reliance on traditional timepieces wanes, Morbi, the town that birthed India's unorganised clock industry, is swallowing its pride and morphing into India's ceramics hub

Located about 60km from Rajkot, the clock manufacturing hub of Morbi has gradually shifted gears over the past decade to become India's ceramics hub

Clock makers now struggle in a Rs 700 crore sector as the ceramics industry, with a turnover of Rs 27,000 crore, overshadows the town's legacy

Brands like Ajanta and Oreva have diversified into lighting and renewable energy to stay afloat while retaining a 90% female workforce

But competitors like Sonam Quartz are seeing an opportunity in the untapped market of clock parts and replacements. Can such a strategy work?

On 3 February 2012, Jaysukh Odhavjibhai Bhalodia emerged from a clock exhibition in Mumbai’s Nehru Planetarium and was attacked by a man with a penknife.

The slashes came briskly that Friday evening. After a brief exchange with Bhalodia, the attacker, Sandeep Mathuria, went for the throat. Then the face. Another swipe, aimed at the chest, missed. As Bhalodia was rushed to hospital, Mathuria was taken into custody and booked for attempt to murder.

AUTHOR

Roshni Nair

Roshni P. Nair joins us from Reuters, where she was an online producer. With a background in weekend features at Hindustan Times and DNA, Roshni has written on subjects ranging from India’s amateur UFO investigators to the provenance of sambhar. When not pursuing story ideas, she enjoys reading, making a great cuppa adrak chai, playing with street dogs, and avoiding large gatherings. Roshni will work out of Mumbai and can be reached at roshni at the rate the-ken.com

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