“The climb to this platform needs a week-long camp to get ready,” quipped Sachin Tendulkar at Artisan Speak, a high-profile fashion showcase held at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Elephanta Caves by the Ministry of Textiles in partnership with IMG Reliance.
“We have 4.3 million people involved in the textile sector, second largest to agriculture. The partnerships will help us setting standards globally. I am confident that these partnerships will enable us to reach out to various parts of the world and show what India has been known for,” said the cricketing legend.
Textiles Secretary Raghvendra Singh with the designers at Artisan Spea |
He added that while people across the world valued hand-made goods and even pay much more for them than for those prepared mechanically, in India the converse held true. “We do not value things made by hand which are actually made from the heart,” he said. Sachin Tendulkar’s involvement here was in keeping with his investment in True Blue – a clothing line created in partnership with Arvind Fashion Brands.
The event was attended by Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani and designers Meera Muzaffar Ali, Rahul Mishra, Padmaja, Abraham and Thakore, Narendra Kumar, Payal Khandwala, Dr Ushadevi Balakrishnan and Gaurang.
Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar at Artisan Speak |
Artisan Speak witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Office of Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles and textile brands Welspun, Titan, Raymond, Arvind True Blue and Reliance Retail. Now, Weavers’ Service Centres (WSCs) will play the role of facilitators and permit textile firms directly source their requirements from handloom clusters. This is expected to result in better price realisation and improved market understanding for weavers.
Once the signing formalities were through, the evening came alive with models wearing the nation’s best handlooms walking a ramp built against the stone-cut backdrop accompanied with some scintillating music.
The venue of the event, the Elephanta Island is historically known as Gharapuri – home to three villages. In all, 168 handloom products in India enjoy the (Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
Models displaying textiles from across India at the fashion show |
India’s prized handlooms on display at Artisan Speak during a 30-minute musical fashion-show included Baluchari and Jamdani weaves from West Bengal, the Paithani from Maharashtra, Patola from Gujarat, Muga from Assam, Kani from Kashmir, Tie & Dye, the Bomkai of Orissa, Chanderi and Maheshwari from Madhya Pradesh, Balarampuram of Kerala, Pochampally from Andhra Pradesh and Brocades of Varanasi.
Towards the private-public initiative, India’s ancient handlooms are set to reach distant shores across the world. And, what better place to launch it than the 2,000-year-old Elephanta Caves!
