Designer Sanjukta Dutta’s life is a ‘destiny came calling’ story. She worked as a civil engineer in the Public Works Department in Assam for 10 years, before answering her true calling: fashion.
The bug bit her early. As a child, Dutta would craft the mekhela chador (a two-piece traditional Assamese attire for women that resembles a saree) for family and friends. Dutta is now fresh off her recent showing at the Lakmé Fashion Week winter/festive 2016, where her collection earned rave reviews. “I believe it’s never too late to begin again,” she says. “Having grown up in Assam, I have always been fascinated by the beauty and quality of the mekhela chador. I wanted more people to know about [it] as I did not want this pure piece of beauty to fade away into oblivion. So I decided to explore the expression of the garment.”
A hundred hands
Dutta quit her government job and began her own enterprise in January 2012 with only three machines.
Now, four-and-a-half years later, she has acquired 100 looms in Assam, which make silk mekhela chadors in colourful threads. Her initiative is noteworthy, especially since handlooms are on the decline.
The journey, Dutta says, was not smooth. “As with most weavers in the rest of the country, artisans of the mekhela chador were falling prey to the pulls and stretches of demand and supply,” she says. “Cost advantage of China drew a large portion of the Assam silk [in particular the Muga variety] industry out of Assam to China.” Better financial opportunities available in other industries also slowly but surely drew the artisans away. “Thus one of the key factors that I had to battle with and focus on while trying to revive this industry was to get these artisans back.”
Today, Dutta supports over a hundred artisan families, covering all aspects of their life such as education, medical and lodging. She also gives them wages that are above the industry average. The benefits are showing. “We are making a healthy profit, which is re-invested in getting more artisans back to the core. We are also ensuring the welfare and well-being of their families, so that all that they have to bother about is their art.”
Representing Assam on a national platform was a big responsibility for Dutta. “While the mekhela chador is well known in the Northeast, it could not establish itself elsewhere, especially not as designer wear,” she says. “My attempt was to change its image and showcase its convenience and beauty. The Northeast has an offbeat sense of style with its inhabitants treating clothes as an expression and extension of who they are as individuals.”
Dutta says fashion from the region reflects the freedom of mind which complements the personality of the people. “I am working towards tapping the untapped potential of the valleys.”
Dutta has found buyers for her creations in the U.S., U.K., Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Australia.
She doesn’t regret not being formally trained in fashion. “I pursued my passion instead of a fashion degree,” she says. “Attending a fashion school would have helped, but my passion for learning outweighed the necessary know-how of garment-making technology.”
The real recognition of her work came in the form of an invitation from the Tourism Department of Assam to create exclusive gifts for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to India in April this year. She crafted two angavastrams for the royal couple with motifs of the Sutradhar, Ankiya Bhaona (Assamese theatre featuring Vaishnavite guru Srimanta Sankardeva), and the Bihu dance and tea gardens of Assam. “It took me two months to finish the handcrafted angavastrams. The royal couple acknowledged the artistry before the Chief Minister of Assam,” Dutta says.
Mekhala musings
In addition to her signature indigenous creations, Dutta also redesigns traditional Assamese jewellery, experimenting with different shapes and sizes. “I work with some of the most traditional styles of Assam: Dugdugi, Kerumoni, Junbiri, and have sold more than 500 pieces,” she says.
Yet the mekhala chador remains her first love. Dutta is hoping to make the traditional garment a global offering by contemporising it.
She says, “Clubbing the traditions and prints of different geographies into one unique customised piece of garment will be my priority, but the Assamese silk mekhela chador will always be the base.”
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The author is a freelance writer
