BENGALURU : Indian weavers creating magic on fabric is no less than a piece of art. While handloom in India, where every region has their own kind of weave, is much loved, the pandemic has, no doubt, been tough on the weaver community. And to help weavers, a city-based handloom organisation -- Madhurya Creation -- has started an initiative called House of Heritage, where they are looking for buyers for weavers’ pending stocks. They are also getting in touch with close to 40 erstwhile Indian royal families to speak about the designs and craftmanship, and these messages will be posted on Madhurya’s Instagram page.
Bharathy Harish, the coordinator of Madhurya Creations, says the situation was dire for weavers. “Many of them reached out to us for work. Just to make ends meet, many started working as construction workers or domestic help.
There are entire weaving villages that have no other means of income,” says Harish. She explains how in the past, during their rule, royal families have been known to be patrons of the weaver community. “They have always supported and promoted handloom in India.
We reached out to them for the same support,” explains Harish, adding that Madhurya works with weavers from several parts of the country, including Kanchipuram, Uppada, Paithan, Chanderi, Maheshwar, Banaras, Kota, Phulia and Ilkal.Urvashi Singh, who hails from the former royal family of Khimsar region of Rajasthan, says weaving and handloom forms an integral part of the country’s heritage.
“It is a matter of pride for every Indian to share their homeland with such distinguished weavers. Given the age of modernisation, we must not only keep our heritage alive but also join initiatives that help it adapt to altered trade and consumer patterns,” says Urvashi.
Padmanabh Singh, the grandson of late Gayatri Devi of the former royal family of Jaipur, says, “I am sure my sister and mother, who take a lot of pride in what they wear, will be elated to don some of these creations, which have been created by some of India’s finest artisans.”
Not just royal families, Madhurya has been getting support from celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt and Kajal Agarwal too. Take, for instance, Alia’s outfit for a Deepavali shoot, which went viral. The lehenga set was made out of waste fabric.
To make it special, the motifs on it were made by 35 children studying in free schools run by Art of Living. Priyanka too gave a shoutout to small businesses, naming Madhurya as well, on her Instagram, whom she appreciated for the work they are doing. She has been a fan of their work for a long time, even donning a jamdani saree by them while receiving the Padma Shri in 2016.