BENGALURU: A tourist travels with an open heart, open senses, and an open mind. While travelling, undoubtedly, gives one a perspective of the people and cultures across the globe, it also stimulates vision, taste and an eye for art, design, handicraft and local stuff. In the light of National Handloom Day on August 7, it’s time to acknowledge the grandeur, uniqueness and exclusive quality of Indian handloom. It is a matter of pride that if we go to any state, there is a textile or style of weaving that is particular to that specific region.
This makes our fashion culture, and handloom heritage extremely rich, diverse and exuberant. Handloom Day celebrates these local artisans who probably are not even paid for the magnificent designs, and have no idea how much pride they bring to the nation. The idea is to acknowledge and celebrate them, and their art. It is the designers and stylists who work on these handlooms to match our modern sensibilities and keep this art relevant and in demand.
Sustaining local weavers, sharing and spreading the word to preserve and conserve the heritage and art of our country is the need of the hour. “One of India’s treasures is the wealth of beautiful fabrics that are woven across this great country. From the royalty of Benares and Kanjeevaram to the stunning Paithani and Kota Doria and the three great ikats of India – Patola, Pochampally and Sambalpur; from the exquisite Jamdani to the lovely Ahimsa silk of North-East India, we have it all in our thriving tradition.
The various khadi varieties like Bandhani, Leheriya, embroidery and block printing still flourish and prosper, adding value and variety to our wardrobes. It is our duty and obligation to support the handloom weavers and artisans of our country by purchasing without bargaining and wearing it with pride. From Handloom Day on August 7, I plan to wear handloom outfits every day till August 15 when we celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence,” says fashion stylist and choreographer Prasad Bidapa, who effortlessly styles handloom outfits.
Whether it is Paithani silk sarees of Maharashtra or Bandhani of Gujarat, or Muga silk of Assam, or the Kullu shawls of Himachal Pradesh, all of them have their own essence, unique look and feel. The Kalamkari of Andhra, Kasuti of Karnataka, Phulkari of Punjab and Kashida embroidery of Kashmir, each can be styled in a manner befitting various occasions and palettes. Finally, it is about being creative, styling it differently each time, and reusing, repurposing and upcycling.
The recycling or upcycling of these beautiful pieces into gowns, dresses, pants, jackets and capes is truly stylish. In manual weaving as opposed to handloom weaving, the texture of the handwoven fabric is different from machinemade. When the fabric is woven on a handloom using hand-spun yarn orthread , it is called khadi. Being ‘vocal for local’ will help our artisans survive, and many Bollywood celebrities like Rekha, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut and Vidya Balan are seen flaunting these beautiful pieces of fabric on international platforms.
The craft bazaars and exhibitions, places like Dilli Haat, or the narrow lanes of cities like Benares, and Jaipur, among others revive my senses with the colourful and beautiful showcase of exuberance. Let us celebrate by joining hands to support this Midas touch of our artisans. Director of NIFT Susan Thomas says, “Indian handloom has the potential to be a game-changer in the fashion industry with its slow processes and production in limited quantities. The National Handloom Day is an occasion to honour skillset and build on them. Weaves are our national heritage and have a great emotive appeal.”