HYDERABAD: Lakshmi Ramakrishnan has spent years doing her bit to revive handlooms and empower weavers. The founder of The AADYA Collective, who is known for collecting handloom sarees, has taken her passion a step ahead by offering weavers an opportunity to keep their craft alive.
On the sidelines of the inaugural of her store Banjara Hills on Friday, she speaks to CE about her limited collection and trying to give people the best of the country’s craftsmanship. “There is so much happening in our country in terms of handlooms; every State has its own weaves. Back in the day, when my friend’s mother and I used to visit General Bazar, we would find excellent handlooms. But now, we only get power looms. That’s why we want to revive this art. We curate and make sure that the sarees have that good old feel,” says Lakshmi, who had started off small three-four years ago and had to shut shop due to Covid-19.
While she has finally been able to re-establish what she had started, Lakshmi says she has a long way to go. “We haven’t touched even 30 per cent of what we want to achieve,” she says. The store has a limited collection comprising Bengal cottons, Kanchi, Upad, Kadhi and Chanderi, among other weaves. “We are not looking for great profits. I just want this initiative to survive. Once we are well-established, I will think for expanding,” she says.
The reason for Lakshmi to keep doing what she does, relentlessly, is the dwindling handlooms market. “It has become more and more expensive as weavers are calling it quits. The yarn rate has increased and next generation of weavers is not interested in learning the craft. To make things worse, there is 5 per cent GST. We request the government to support weavers,” she says.