It is late August in a small unit on the edge of Ludhiana. The owner has cut his winter range. Jackets, sweaters, and a new line of printed shawls that his agent in Delhi was excited about. The agents book their orders. The bales go out to wholesalers in Gandhi Nagar, Lucknow, Jaipur and Indore. By the end of September his godown is nearly empty and his order book says it is a good year.
In November the calls change. The Lucknow wholesaler wants more of the grey jacket, but only the medium and the large. The Jaipur wholesaler has not paid and does not answer. The agent says the shawls are moving. Nobody can tell him which colours, or where. The owner cuts a fresh lot of the jacket in every size, because that is how he always packs it, and sends it out before the cold peaks.
In February the returns arrive. Shawls by the bundle, mostly in the colours his agent had pushed. Jackets in the small and extra large sizes from almost every town. Some pieces are soiled from hanging near shop doors. The Jaipur payment comes in at last, less a deduction for goods that were sent back. The owner sits in his godown with stock he paid for in August, worth far less now, and starts planning next winter on the same agent reports that misled him this time.