The recent debate on handlooms versus power looms in the press, and on social media where I have been tagged several times, led me to remember why I was going to enjoy wearing my sarees more often this year. I am no textile expert, but most of my friends know I am a hoarder of learning. When I started on the pact I promised myself I would learn more about the sarees I wear. These yards of cloth that have made it to my cupboard tell my story, yes, but also the story of our heritage, our collective past. I hear often from friends associated with art and craft that it doesn’t pay for the craftsmen to continue their profession. Sons and daughters now want to be in BPOs or engineers.<\/p>\n
And why not ? I totally get that.<\/p>\n
Every saree, made by hand or on a power loom, is a work of art and science. Precision, the choice of threads and colours, the warp and the weft, technique, the planning of design…it is no less short of magical to see it all come together on cloth.<\/p>\n
I for one love technology and what machines have done for our world. Medical advances are an obvious example to state. Do I want to go back to a simpler but harder time ? Perhaps not.<\/p>\n
Do I appreciate hand made ? But of course ! It’s like asking would you rather consume a capsule that takes care of all your nourishment and calories or prepare fresh food with ingredients from an organic farm, slow cooked to preserve it’s goodness, and taste, and serve up in all it’s variety of colour that when eaten leaves you replete with satisfaction.<\/p>\n
No brainer, no ?<\/p>\n
So how do we strike the balance ? Of handmade and machine made ? How do we ensure that the weaver gets his due ? These are questions we need to ask.<\/p>\n
The debate in my mind is not this versus that. It is how do we bring dignity to labour. That is a question that needs answering by policy makers and each one of us.<\/p>\n
Today’s saree is my salute to the weavers in Benaras. Katan silk, so soft and beautiful, woven into intricate designs, one part self on self and another with a pop of colours and patterns from the Moghul era. My friend brought this to me. But it was only two and a half meters long with the Pallu woven in. Another friend helped attach raw silk to this piece and finish it to make a saree. A third friend helped me get the blouse ready. All four of us appreciate handwork, precision, design, colours.<\/p>\n
For me the three pink threads woven in to the off white by mistake, the extra dhaaga knot on the pallu,the ” imperfections” that made it into this Katan silk that make it a unique piece, will always remind me that what I wear has been made by some one who sat on a loom for hours so I could enjoy this.<\/p>\n
It also makes me wonder what he got for his effort.<\/p>\n
There is a connection between the weaver and the saree wearer. We just have to remember to acknowledge it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The recent debate on handlooms versus power looms in the press, and on social media where I have been tagged several times, led me to remember why I was going to enjoy wearing my sarees more often this year. I am no textile expert, but most of my friends know I am a hoarder of…<\/p>\n