CHENNAI: For an entire year, we have been subjected to stories of loss, grief and panic in the media. However, it is in the face of adversity that stories of hope and unity mushroom, even if they are few and far between. We explore one such story of Chennai dwellers Sudha Sekhar and Gowri Samidurai, who have been working together to bring back the dying art of weaving wire koodais (baskets) to fulfil the latter’s education plans that were sabotaged by the pandemic.
In the 80s and 90s, koodais — colourful baskets woven with plastic wires — were a staple in every Tamil household. Ever since, there has been a large drop in the usage given the acceptance of fabric bags, but the demand for these durable carriers is now picking up again, according to Sudha, who has been carrying one herself for around six years despite being the co-founder of her own bag company called Subr.
“Earlier, the women of every household would weave these bags, but now there are only a handful of NGOs that work with women to create koodais,” she adds.
Sudha’s koodai, a lovely weave of yellow, green and red with comfortable pink straps, has been her ideal choice for any task — travel, fabric shopping, buying groceries and provisions, and everything in between. It has become a part of her; she is never seen without it. She realised that demand rose among her peers when her basket took the spotlight in the comments of an Instagram post. When we scroll through the messages, we see everyone “eyeing the koodai” or something to that effect. With this knowledge, Sudha set out to find more koodais only to come across the wrong sizes with uncomfortable, thin straps. She decided to take matters into her own hands.
Enter Gowri, a long-term acquaintance of Sudha’s in-laws, who worked as their house help nearly eight years ago. Though she moved on to be a nurse/caretaker full-time, she always remained in touch, especially during the pandemic. When Sudha’s mother-in-law informed her of Gowri’s skills of weaving koodais, she reached out to ask her for assistance and help her financially. Two birds, one stone.
To empower herself, 43-year-old Gowri has enrolled in classes to attain literacy in Tamil and English. All the proceeds, apart from shipping costs, from the koodais are forwarded to help her continue her classes. “I was very young when my friend taught me how to weave koodais in my ooru. When Sudha approached me, I was looking to take classes to improve my English,” says Gowri. The raw materials are paid for by Sudha and sourced by Gowri. The latter collects the waste to get them recycled. Between her work as a nurse and evening classes, Gowri makes the bags in her spare time, sometimes working as late as 11 pm.
The first batch was available to a close circle of friends on a WhatsApp group but the wire koodais can now be requested on Sudha’s Instagram. Their collaboration has garnered 20 interested customers. Currently, there are limited customisations — a few colours and sizes — since the manufacturing is single-handedly done by Gowri. Keep an eye out for vivid planters that may soon be on sale.
Visit @thatsubrgirl on Instagram; shipping across India.