Prominent among the next Gen concerns are scaling the career graph by qualifying for it and choosing the right paths which beckon them. Malyada Goverdhan, 37, a software architect with an MBA in her pocket, Ramya Rangacharya, 35, an Air Force officer with a teaching background seemed to have the right perquisites for great careers. What made these two young women chuck their respective jobs to plunge headlong into restoring the status of Indian handlooms to its erstwhile glory?
Malyada and Ramya hail from Vrindavan near Mathura where their family manages one of the oldest temples in north India, Sri Rangji Mandir dedicated to Sri Andal.
Avid learners
Imagine a scenario where the girls are placed in charge of the Vastra Kothri, a treasure house of 19th century antique saris, stoles and weaves worn by the gods and goddesses. They enjoy rummaging, feeling the fabric, learning at the same time that the looms which produced these exquisite weaves have shut down, and the weavers closed shop as there is no demand for such weaves anymore. This charged them to form a steely resolve to resuscitate dying handcrafts, and carry them to a new dimension of contemporariness.
With a fervour that borders on being fanatic about principles that guide their working lives, the sisters work in tandem and make an amazing team. Their roles are well demarcated.
Ramya handles all the artisan related workshops, production and designing in the organisation, while Malyada handles marketing, strategy, technology and operations and this is where her experience in implementing software development projects for eBay gave her the necessary expertise to use the Internet to connect buyers and sellers.
HandsofIndia
Malyada and Ramya established HandsofIndia in 2006 “a project to revive handloom weaves and motifs and improve the life of artisans.”
With their limited funds, HOI works with about 20 artisans, most of them skilled in embroidery. They have an impressive work sheet which shows interaction with the Krishnanagar Toy makers, the Naupatna Weavers Cooperative Societies... the makers of Donguria Sarees, the Dhabla Pit loom weaving in Bhujodi with about eight related families of weavers.
HOI has delved deeply into the revival of traditional Chanderi saris, and have successfully revived Chanderi cottons which are not seen any more. “We have used old motifs that we saw in the antique fabrics in our Vastra Kothri,” says Ramya.
Malyada and Ramya, keep their ambitions and ideals aloft with the vigour of youth, dynamic energy and faith in themselves. They believe that handlooms will again come to the forefront, and wish to put in all their efforts which will benefit the rural populace, and give visibility to the work of the skilled artisans.
Looking at their products which are diligently worked, I know there is a lot of work to be done but I can recognise potential.
But mature persons who have been working with craft NGOs can guide these young people to evolve and develop the beauty of handcrafted textiles into products that will speak for themselves without any media hype.
Innovating success
I notice that surface ornamentation was a prominent feature in their products. Phulkari on kotas, chanderis and other handlooms; Chikan embroidery on different fabrics like Venkatgiris, kantha embroidery on apparel.
Phulkari and chikan work are still flourishing as craft. Why go there?
Ramya: Phulkari has been overtaken by a uniform sindhi embroidery. What was done on handloom cloth earlier is now being done on mill cloth. We are getting the artisans to work on handlooms and train them to meet our exacting standards. We get them to use stitches which are not done anymore.
You have gone round the world. Have you compared the systems followed in other handicraft sectors?
Malyada: I started questioning my lifestyle which was all about working to accumulate wealth for myself. And then the direction changed — to be able to help others make a living, and what better area to start on it than handiwork. Our study of the models being adopted in China or South-East Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam leads us to believe that a distributed system will work with various handicraft artisans spread across various parts of the country practising very varied handicraft traditions, yet adhering to a single quality standard espoused by the brand HandsOfIndia.
How do you fund your projects?
Malyada: So far, the venture has been funded out of our own savings, and money donated by our family and friends. I was very sure that till the time we have a working model, we will not go out to ask for funding.
Why is it you are so averse to funding either from the DCH or other funding agencies?
We are not averse. We poured in all our funds, we come from well-to-do families, and our husbands support us. We had to prove ourselves in the market first, to understand our products would be accepted in the changing market, and now that we have proved ourselves we will look for funding. If our enterprise was a failure, better our heads were on the block!
What is the main USP of your exhibitions?
To provide the customers a wide range of apparel, furnishings and home decor items exclusively in handloom. Our products range from traditional sarees to western wear made exclusively in handloom. We are proud to say that our designs in western wear made exclusively in handloom are not available anywhere in the country.
We have already starting to work with young designers We would need to bring in more professionals very soon, as we are at the end of our current bandwidth and can't scale up if we don't bring them in.
