Jaya Jaitly, a well-known name in politics, is now synonymous with handicrafts and hand-looms. She started the Dastkari Haat Samiti in 1986 and has been working towards the betterment of the lives of artisans and craftsmen. Dastkari Haat Samiti will be in Bengaluru for an exhibition on September 23 and 24 on the invitation of The Registry of Sarees.
Talking over the phone from New Delhi, Jaya talks of her passion for crafts and what we can do to sustain our heritage.
Excerpts:
Tell us about your move from politics to the world of fabrics and crafts.
It is not actually a leap. People just haven’t noticed. I have always been passionate about handicrafts and handloom. It has been a constant in my life. In fact, politics only helped me take this dream forward – of doing something for our craftsmen. When one works for the good of others and does not gain profit from it is what I call good politics.
What would you do to wean Indian women from Western wear?
I wish every Indian woman would look at herself honestly in the mirror. Western clothes just don’t suit our Indian body type nor our lifestyle. Our movements are more flowy and graceful. So a sari drape would look beautiful on an Indian woman. I still wonder why we want to get away from our identity.
I have also done a little survey interviewing young men whether they prefer women in Indian or western wear and was surprised when a majority of them voted for saris. Anyone with a social conscience should wear hand-looms and encourage handicrafts.
If each one follows this principle then we are sustaining not just an ancient heritage but also important livelihoods.
The pricing of handlooms and hand-woven saris has always been an issue...
Yes. If you are buying directly from the weaver then it is a fair price. The prices are high sometimes due to the modern middle men – designers, online forums and so on. They are also making a profit, which many don’t see. That is why direct bazaars help. But, tell me, when you are willing to pay thousands for a designer sari, then why not pay the weaver for what he creates with his hands? Why do we bargain when we deal with them?
Tell us about the mission of the Dastkari Haat Samiti.
We try and incorporate traditional arts and crafts into the modern lifestyle. Like Madhubani on furniture and so on. We started the tradition of painting trunks using many traditional skills and applications. We work intimately with traditional artisans and now are trying to get their designs to be a part of two airports in Rajasthan. The idea is not to move backwards, but forward blending our strong heritage with the contemporary.
Tell us about the bazaar in Bengaluru...
There will be a lot of handlooms for women.
They will see prints and designs like never before. The bazaar is our message to people that we work for the livelihood of weavers and craftsmen and are just tweaking the market to their advantage. Our mission is also to study the weakness of the artisans and convert it to their advantage.
The exhibition is at 17/A Krishna Reddy Colony, Domlur Layout.
