Restoring true craft

Swati and Sunaina seek to revive India’s ageing, forgotten handloom weaves through their eponymous label

August 02, 2017 05:30 pm | Updated 08:31 pm IST

The complex Indian hand weave and the rich heritage of artisan craft were the heroes of Swati and Sunaina’s collections at Raintree.

The exhibition featured their latest collections ‘Gulzaar’, which combined Indian architectural and craft motifs, largely floral, onto Benarasi silks and ‘Umang’, that featured a delicate fabric that blended fine cotton and luxurious silk, made for warm and pleasant climates.

The show also featured their classic saris as well as a collection of wedding lehengas, blouses and dupattas.

“Each sari we make is a single edition piece, woven with pure silver or gold zari that comes in a wooden box with an authenticity certificate carrying the story with the documented details of each piece,” explains Sunaina, who began her collaboration with Swati in 2007 in Kolkata with a conviction to bring back the lost treasures of Indian woven textiles. The designers have a flagship store in Kolkata.

The packaging also includes care instructions and design details, saree serial numbers, weavers’ names, time taken to weave, fabric, warp and weft details, thread count, weaving technique, zari weight and purity details, saree weight and handloom and silk authenticity details.

“The idea is that when the younger generation receives these saris as heirlooms from their mothers, they can make use of the details and appreciate the textile for what it is. They might even become the first documented textiles in the country.”

She emphasizes that each sari has a unique story.

“For instance, we have a Benarasi silk sari with a litchi buta that draws from the older weaves in the region. That was a time when weavers took their inspiration from nature and created floral patterns, at first, then moved on to fruits. We also have a sari that features pomegranate buds.”

And then she points to a sari with peacock motifs.

“This one is inspired by the pichwais (paintings) that are hung behind the image of the deity in the Nathdwara temples. It shows peacocks frolicking on the pichwai. But among the rare weaves in our collection is the rangkaat (which in Hindi means ‘cutting colour’). Here the weaver cuts the colour mid-weave to create different shades. The transitions in the fabric are smoothened by zari work. He takes one day to weave two millimeters because he has to keep introducing new colours.”

The rangkaat weave, she points out, is almost extinct and is only being practiced by handful of aged weavers. The younger generation lacks the patience for such slow, arduous crafts.

“We were only able to make this after four years of convincing the weavers. It’s one of the toughest weaves in the country and needs immense skills and patience. That’s why we only make one rangkaat saree in a year.”

Working with handloom, she says, was just a personal choice which was unconsciously inspired by the rich heritage of handlooms worn by the women in their families.

“When we grew up and started wearing saris, we were able to tell the difference between a handwoven sari and a power loom sari. We took a trip to Benares to understand why we were not getting the saris that we saw being worn around us, anymore, and we understood that Benrares was undergoing a tremendous change, with weavers moving towards cheaper power looms.”

She found few were willing to invest in the effort required to work with handloom.

“And so it was a no brainier that we would work exclusively with handlooms because it’s where the true craft lies and the craft is ageing, it is soon going to die.”

She explains that this is because the existing handloom weavers are anywhere between 45 and 60 years-old. Once they leave the profession, there aren’t enough craftsmen among their successors who want to step into their shoes.

Swati and Sunaina, have it taken it upon themselves to revive some of the most ancient, forgotten weaves and perhaps, motivate the younger generations to take up their ancestral crafts.

For details, visit swatiandsunaina.com or facebook.com/swatiandsunaina.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.