CHENNAI: Generation after generation, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters occupy the entryways of their houses or factories to set up their traditional pit loom. This is a common sight in towns and villages where traditional artisans reside. They spend months, sometimes years, giving shape and design to a fabric.
Bringing these artists, their labour, and their stories to namma Chennai is The Craft Council of India (CCI), a volunteer-run organisation engaging in building awareness about artisans and their crafts. “The mission of CCI is to work towards sustaining India’s crafts and artisans. It helps ensure growth for artisanal communities by creating economic opportunities and bringing them to the forefront,” shares Jayasri Samyukta, executive committee member of CCI.
For more than two decades, under the banner of ‘Textile Show’, CCI has been organising an exhibition-cum-sale twice a year where Chennaiites can shop for Khadi, Matka Silk, Chanderi, Kalamkari, Kantha, Shibori, Patolas, and Bandini. “In this bi-annual textile show, CCI brings together the best of Indian artisans, weavers, designers, and entrepreneurs working with craft. One can experience the joyful amalgamation of India’s ancient artisanal skills and the creativity of the designers, blending these textiles seamlessly into contemporary aesthetics and lifestyles,” she adds.
While the first exhibition focusses on spring and summer collections, the latter is an autumn and winter edition. “Although India is predominantly summer-centric, the weaves, patterns and textures of our textile tradition suit every occasion and changing lifestyles. This textile show continues the celebration of the ‘handloom week’ and ushers in pre-festive and party shopping for the season ahead,” she explains.
Among the artisans presenting their work is Seema Tiwri, director of Tarini Odisha. “I will be bringing cotton — one of the fabrics being Sambalpuri cotton, keeping the weather in mind, but also silk keeping the festivities in mind,” she says. Another commercial entity established in 2020, Yali, takes handmade products made responsibly using natural raw materials robust enough to impact lives.
Parul Mendiratta, business and communications lead of Yali says, “It is our objective to maintain complete transparency of all stakeholders from yarn to consumer so that we can make a radical difference to the people who create handlooms and people who embrace them.” They will showcase handspun and handwoven cotton and silk garments. This edition will see the offerings by 40 artisans from all over the country.
“This is a show that brings handmade aesthetics to life and celebrates the magic and magnificence of our country’s textile tradition that has been passed on for several generations. There is so much beauty in handmade and I hope more and more people learn to appreciate it,” she says, adding that though we live in times of technological advancement “what a hand can do nothing else can. The future is handmade and nothing can replace the hand.
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