When fashion designer Maanas Salim got entangled in her love for handloom saris, it was an education in itself. She knew soon enough that it was time to use that name, decided on in college, for whenever she would open her own boutique.
While Niram Neela is a name that Maanas says came randomly to her, the saris at the store are anything but. “Many weaves have died over the years after they failed to sustain the weavers. So I was insistent that all the products in my store be handmade,” she says. With a specialisation in fashion design and not textile design, which included the study of the sari, she had to change tracks to understand her new-found love better.
The store took two years to come together as Maanas travelled after completing her course with NIFT in Mumbai, forging connections with weavers around the country. She began by supplying boutiques with stock and selling saris online. Prod her a little and the young designer, reticent till then, lets the stories tumble out, from the many affable weavers she met to sulky weavers she crossed paths with, some agreeing to indulge her ideas. “Weavers I have met in Kerala are not open to trying new patterns. My friend sources saris for me from weavers in Kannur. There too, trying a new technique or motif has been met with resistance,” she says.
Elegant drapes
A Banarasi silk sari with a motif of dream catchers on the pallu shines in the soft light. Maanas fondly recalls the ease with which she was able to communicate her idea to the weavers for that sari. “Some Banarasi weavers are tech-savvy. I drew the pattern using CorelDRAW and mailed it to them. They recreated it for me.”
Elegant leheriya saris sit lightly against a wall of the charming store that has interesting props, titbits of information on khadi and illustrations created by a friend. A trip to Jaipur resulted in a meeting with tie-dye expert Badshah Miyan who parted with some of his saris for Maanas only because they didn’t have a presence in the state yet, she says with a chuckle. “The saris are of tussar, crepe and kota silk, starting from ₹3,000.”
Maanas aims at stocking saris from different states while introducing more weaves. “A hundred types already exist in India. There are 50 to 70 types of saris in the South alone. The beauty of these saris, like the Patteda Anchu, Salem cottons and Arni silks, are at par with Kanchipuram saris. The Patteda style of weaving had come to a stop gradually after demand died out. A sari revivalist took it up recently. I am sourcing them from her.”
Another recent addition at the store is the Kunbi Tribal sari. Once worn by women from the farming community in Goa, the weave had disappeared during Portuguese rule in the state. Fashion designer Wendell Rodricks gave the sari, traditionally in cotton chequered red and white, a new lease of life in the late 2000s. “Kunbi Tribal saris are available in a limited collection of cotton and cotton with art silk,” says Maanas.
Prices for saris here start from ₹950 for vibrant, chequered Chettinads. Maheshwari, Chanderi, Gadwal and Pochampally cottons are available for ₹2,000, Banarasi and Ikat silks from ₹ 6,000 to 8,000, Banarasi silk chiffons within ₹10,000 and brocade silks with cutwork from ₹15,000 to 17,000. Rich Paithani brocades cost ₹ 20,000. Maanas is also introducing traditional bridal wear soon, sourced from a national award-winning master weaver.
Go organic
The treasure trove of handlooms also has distinct weaves in organic cotton sourced from local weavers, such as the Ayurveda collection, priced from ₹ 6,000 upwards, produced by a family of weavers in Balaramapuram of entirely natural dyes in colours that are easy on the eye. The herbs used for the dyes, she informs, have health benefits. “The dyes are a closely guarded family secret. We have saris from the general wellness line.”
It’s hard not to fall for The Love Collection, saris in comfy light cotton with heart motifs embroidered by a group based in Poovar; there’s also a collection based on Ayyappa Paniker’s poems, both entirely Maanas’ babies.
The store has jewellery by Varnam that works with women artisans in Karnataka’s Channapatna and wants to stock interior décor, also handmade.
“Those who know the extent of work that goes into a handmade product do not complain about the prices,” Maanas concludes.
Niram Neela is opposite School of Distance Education, near AKG Centre, Palayam.
