Handspun, handwoven, and handlooms… these three words govern their work. Young designer couple Amrita Sudan Saha from the Indian Institute of Craft and Design, Jaipur and wife Santosh Saha, an alumnus of the Birla Academy of Art in Kolkata, who were in the city recently displayed the stunning khadi collection they had put together as a tribute to Gandhi. Minimalistically patterned saris in cotton and silk attract your attention for their sheer simplicity.
They are among the few young designers today who have successfully melded traditional skills with the contemporary idiom. And, this is how it all began a few years ago. A few villages such as Bardavan, Dhatrigram and Berhampur (Murshidabad) in Kolkata, where weaving flourished once, suffered neglect and shut down due to lack of material, marketing skills, mentors and patronage. This led them to turn away from traditional vocations. It was these areas that the Sahas decided to concentrate on.
It called for a year of research in 2010, which entailed visiting areas in and around West Bengal, interviewing the weaving community to examine their problems and how they survived the onslaught of modern markets. The weaving began primarily with gamchas and thans of material. Santosh studied forms of weaving in Weavers Service Centre, and it gave her valuable insight into weaving techniques. She also worked in KVIC (Khadi Village Industry Commission) amongst weaving clusters. Armed with knowledge and research, the Sahas created 10 to 15 designs for stoles, using solely khadi with jamdani designs.
Delhi Crafts Council, impressed by their work and objectives, encouraged them by pointing them to markets which proved very fruitful. With the weavers usually grooved into their techniques was it difficult to break their mindset? Also, the usual plaint is that designers experiment and abandon them once their project is over. “We convinced them we would handhold them and others doing ancillary jobs such as spinning right throughout.” The Sahas promised continuous work and an expanding market. The year 2012 saw this couple work on saris with 450 counts khadi, which was possible to weave only by a few weavers. This select range became show stoppers.
Starting out with just five or seven weavers, the Sahas today have captive looms weaving their products manned by 45 weavers who have mastered the technique. “Our idea is to make only unstitched garments,” says Amrita Sudan Saha. “We are experimenting with mixes, combining khadi with other yarn such as wool, hemp, and ari silk. We use Chinese silk yarn for the warp occasionally, but prefer to use indigenous yarn.” Natural dyes are used, so also vat and azo-free dyes.
He throws open with flourish, a fine muslin khadi with jamdani buttis , a revival, since it was existent only during the British Raj. “You see the excellence in weaving where each of the buttis is tightly woven as compared to other jamdanis.”
Ssaha Works was designed to promote the crafts community. The products are developed by the craftspersons, and the Sahas find them a market helping them participate in various sales, the proceeds of which go entirely to the artisans.
“We try to create a synergy between designers and artisan groups to stimulate and preserve local craft skills in a sustainable way, and we try to blend existing skills with modern day technology, design and themes. We wish to empower the craft communities with their inherent creative potential and work towards an ecological sustainable social model,” he says. For details, visit Ssaha Works on Facebook.
