BENGALURU: This Deepavali, BJP leader and MP Shobha Karandlaje gifted the bright and colourful Udupi sarees to Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Smriti Irani and other personalities.
Karandlaje who represents Udupi in the Lok Sabha, purchased the handloom sarees from local weavers. Apart from the two Union ministers, she gifted them to party MPs Maneka Gandhi, Meenakshi Lekhi, Debasree Chaudhury, BJP national secretary Vijaya Rahatkar, writer Shefali Vaidya, Tamil Nadu BJP general secretary Vanathi Sreenivasan, Telangana Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, DMK MP Kanimozhi and many others.
Along with the saree, Karandlaje sent a letter mentioning the speciality of Udupi sarees, made by the weavers of coastal Karnataka. She also mentioned that due to Covid-19, it has badly affected their business. As per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar call, it is essential to buy from locals, the note said.
Udupi sarees which have the Geographical Indication (GI) tag , were recognised in 2016. They are much sought after for their light weight and flexibility. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee used to prefer these sarees. Prior to independence, Udupi sarees were also part of the Swaraj movement. They are hand-woven and their speciality is that the pallu and borders are bright.
Kadike Trust, which is helping to revive these sarees, is mainly promoting Yaksha designs. These sarees have colourful bold checks and are traditionally worn by Yakshagana artistes, but now are in demand. There are more than 50 weavers who make Udupi sarees. Last year, the trust had organised a ‘Save Udupi sarees’ campaign.