China recently for an international crafts conference and fair where craftspeople from all over the world were participating, it was a joy to see the quality of products and how exciting and innovative they were. The Indian craftspeople and exhibits, carefully handpicked by the Crafts Council of India, held their own, and ended up winning three of 15 awards. Virtually everyone was marveling at the beauty and diversity of Indian textiles.
When I was asked to write this article, the name of the e-magazine sounded familiar. It took me back to 2003 and an exhibition called Fibers of Fashion, organised by the Fashion Design Council of India. There too, a jury consisting of Raghavendra Rathore, Anshu Modi, Meera Muzaffar Ali, and Anchal Jain of Promostyl awarded seven of the 12 prizes to Indian grassroots textile craftspeople! Sweeping the awards despite competing against 70 participants from the mill and industrial sector was a taste of success in the mainstream market for the winners. What is usually only a pipe dream for rural artisans, came true.
For the Berozgar Mahila Kalyan Samiti group from Bihar especially, it was a huge jump from being bonded labour in Bihar to sharing a common platform in a 5-star hotel with crystal major Swarovski! For once, a level playing field, Indian weavers have the skills to conquer the world. India is so fortunate to have this treasure house.
Over nine million textile craftspeople are still part of India's living heritage, practicing hand skills unmatched by any other country. They also have an extraordinary repertoire of motifs and designs going back generations and distinctive to each tradition. Weavers and spinners create textiles in hundreds of different techniques and traditions unique to each community and area - a cultural and economic strength whose full potential remains untapped and that still has a contemporary and global appeal.
When I was asked to write this article, the name of the e-magazine sounded familiar. It took me back to 2003 and an exhibition called Fibers of Fashion, organised by the Fashion Design Council of India. There too, a jury consisting of Raghavendra Rathore, Anshu Modi, Meera Muzaffar Ali, and Anchal Jain of Promostyl awarded seven of the 12 prizes to Indian grassroots textile craftspeople! Sweeping the awards despite competing against 70 participants from the mill and industrial sector was a taste of success in the mainstream market for the winners. What is usually only a pipe dream for rural artisans, came true.
For the Berozgar Mahila Kalyan Samiti group from Bihar especially, it was a huge jump from being bonded labour in Bihar to sharing a common platform in a 5-star hotel with crystal major Swarovski! For once, a level playing field, Indian weavers have the skills to conquer the world. India is so fortunate to have this treasure house.
Over nine million textile craftspeople are still part of India's living heritage, practicing hand skills unmatched by any other country. They also have an extraordinary repertoire of motifs and designs going back generations and distinctive to each tradition. Weavers and spinners create textiles in hundreds of different techniques and traditions unique to each community and area - a cultural and economic strength whose full potential remains untapped and that still has a contemporary and global appeal.
No comments:
Post a Comment