BENGALURU: A sixty-five-year-old woman from Vajarahalli, Bengaluru, has sewn by hand an entire sacred text from the Brahmanda Purana in a saree. Padma Manjunath has sewn the Lalitha Sahasranama in an 18-feet Kanchipuram silk saree measuring 15 feet in length and 4 feet in width. The saree holds 180 slokhas with 5,824 Kannada letters.
Many people and experts say it’s an amazing feat and the fact that the hand stitched letters are uniform in size has made it more laudable. The saree has also been decorated with navarathna gems, corals and pearls. It also features a number of lion and lotus images at the bottom. She has the effort as an offering to the goddess, Devi Lalithambika at Sringeri. It took Padma three years to complete this piece of art.
Padma has been creating and designs crafts on papers, boards, utensils, pots, chalk piece, pencils, dry coconuts, vegetables, cloths, walls, doors, for many years now. At the age of 25, she ventured to create special artifacts and decorations for events and institutions. Her creations attracted demands from private individuals and institutions where she always championed handicrafts in bulk. She has also trained many craftsman in the process.
“My son Rakshith always motivated me to do something different. As a stage director with a creative mind, he supported and encouraged me to create lasting works. Being an artist, I loved to do Mysuru paintings and stage decorations. This idea blossomed from my ndaily chanting of the the Lalitha Sahasranama” says Padma Manjunath.
Sadly, Rakshith passed away when around three-fourth of the Lalitha Sahasranam work on saree was completed. Padma has however continued her relentless efforts to continue her son’s legacy. She is now provids free training for students. It is notable that in the past 3 decades she has trained over 200 people to become professional craftsmen.
Her husband, Manjunath, says “My wife has immense love for arts and paintings. She has offered training and secured jobs for many women. This particular work was very philosophical in nature,” says
Manjunath. While Manjunath wants his wife to win a national award, he is hesitant to send the saree to Delhi because of what he says is the delicate textile work which very vulnerable to rough handling.