You walk into a dimly lit room, yet the first thing that catches your eye is a grey sari with pink and orange highlights. A bright pink blouse with gold embroidery is thrown casually over it. The effect is rather striking.
In another room, people are thronging around a table opening out saris, dupattas and stoles of various hues and weaves. Obviously making a choice is not an easy task. A set of silk saris in bright pinks and reds hang from a table. While one lady wants a sari in the exact same colours that someone else has bought, another wants a blouse altered to suit her specifications, down to the level of embroidery.
All this hustle is the result of WeaveInIndia’s pop-up exhibition, arranged by Shrivyshnavi Annush of Pookari.com, showcasing a range of Benaras, Bandhini, Patola, Kota, Chanderi, Kanjeevaram, and Ikat saris, dupattas and stoles in cotton, silk, georgette, chiffon, and linen.
WeaveInIndia was begun in November-December 2016 when Mandira Bansal read “a heart-rending article on how the weavers of Varanasi were suffering post demonetisation.” She went to the city to see how she could help and then created a travelling trunk show that would take the weavers’ products to various cities.
Having done eight shows in India and a couple in Dubai in the past few months, Bansal says she only offers colour suggestions to the weavers. “I don’t want to interfere too much because they know what they’re doing.” She works with weavers in Varanasi, Kota, Patan, Rajkot, Kanchipuram, Gadhwal and plans to do bring in more hidden weaves from across the country.
Her role is curation: handpicking the right piece and bringing to the attention of the right person. “Every piece in the exhibition is handpicked and the only place where I bring in my design aesthetic is in the blouses.” Bansal’s clients can order handcrafted blouses with intricate embroidery to complement the saris.
She has also recently launched an apparel line with Indo-Western wear in handwoven silks. This is also an attempt to coax the weavers into doing more than just saris and also venture into fabric that’s currently not being produced. “If they can weave fabric for the line, the cuts will be more in keeping with an international aesthetic.”
While for now she’s focusing on trunk shows in different cities, Bansal would like to have “a self-sustaining store in every city.” She is also looking to develop a website though she has a strong social media presence. “Well, I really didn’t have much faith in Facebook or Instagram last year,” she laughs. “But in the last few months I realised how much it helps one connect with people anywhere. I mean, people don’t have to go out of their homes to shop. I have often had people come to my shows saying ‘I saw this sari on your FB page or Instagram feed. Do you have that one here?’” The other aspect is being able to display the weavers’ virtuosity to an audience that doesn’t know about them. “Only a couple of them are online. For many in remote villages, they don’t know about social media. It’s a way to show what they can do.”
Quick facts
For more information about WeaveInIndia, see www.facebook.com/weaveinindiawiin and www.instagram.com/weaveinindia/
The show is on today from from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm at 15, GD Street Race Course. Call 8489769723 for more details