Reviving traditional handicrafts

Anuradha Upadhyay, who once dedicated her time to her family, decided to take a plunge into art entrepreneurship when she was in Bhubaneswar. “My journey with Anukriti, which translates to Anu’s (Anuradha) Creations, began late but I am happy that I started only when I was fully ready for it. My husband had a transferable job, so when I went with him to Bhubaneswar, I tried to explore the city’s rich art and culture. A lot of tribals reside around the city and make tribal crafts like Dhokra jewellery and artefacts. I always had an eye for art and painting, even though I never painted in my life. To see if I could paint, I enrolled in a class. I learnt Pattachitra from artist Bijay Kumar Khatoi, who is also my mentor. Pattachitra is an intricate art of Odisha, where one paints a whole story on canvas.” 

Upadhyay wanted to create something of her own. “So I created a fusion of Madhubani and Dhokra, Warli and Dhokra and Madhubani and Warli. Along with that, I started painting crab shells which were very well received. I also exhibited my paintings at Lalit Kala Akademi, where many artists aspire to exhibit their work,” says Upadhyay who displayed her fusion paintings on canvas and tussar silks and paintings on crab shells.
  
Sustainable fashion 
After this exhibition, Anukriti was born and the couple relocated to Pune. “I decided to take forward Anukriti’s journey and promote the art and craft of artisans from across the country. During my stay in Odisha, I had established contacts with local artisans by visiting exhibitions. I wanted to directly source the art from tribal artisans and weavers instead of buying it from anyone else,” she says.  

Today, she is in touch with 15 artisans and weavers from whom she sources diverse products including linen and tussar silk sarees, khadi dupattas, tribal jewellery made of brass, beads, and home decor items like dhokra artefacts like idols, pen holders and so on. The weavers are from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

She says, “To see how these products are received here, I held exhibitions. I also got in touch with organisations and restaurants who encourage such products. That apart, I participated in art exhibitions during festivals in order to reach out to a larger audience,” says Upadhyay. Her brand Anukriti offers a variety of products including her paintings, tribal jewellery, handloom sarees, artefacts and much more. 

Ask her what’s her take on sustainable fashion and she says, “Thankfully a large number of people, especially the younger generation, is getting into it. Also it’s very fashionable. Promoting sustainable fashion will give a good boost to weavers as well as to their business. Now, I only wear handloom sarees and this is how I am trying to encourage sustainable fashion.”
 
Organisations like Anukriti provide the much needed platform to handloom weavers. But organic products are expensive, which makes it inaccessible to most and therefore defeats the purpose of helping the environment.
 
Ask Upadhyay how to make sustainable products more affordable and she says, “The government should waive off the GST. Even though it’s 5 per cent, it makes handloom products more expensive. Also, handloom products face stiff competition from online shopping sites, which offer large discounts on items. People are not willing to pay extra for handicrafts and handlooms. So the government has to pitch in and give subsidies to the community of weavers and artisans so that they can produce at a lesser cost.” 

Upadhyay has also partnered with online shopping platforms to get a wider reach and have greater visibility for her products.