Weaves of Brilliance

My cousin’s grandparents were a unique couple. They never made a property of their own. Got both daughters happily married. Globe trotted after retirement and had interesting stories of each country to keep us kids entertained. Aaji and Abba as we called them; collected beautiful souvenirs and miniature alcohol bottles from around the world which particularly kept me interested whenever I visited them as a kid. Well in advance they had decided to donate their body once lifeless. This inspired my grandparents to do the same and be of use to the world until the last bit of oneself remains. To be honest, this inspiration has seeped in me as well. Their planning was so apt that they had even decided where one will live once one of them passes away. Abba passed away and Aaji went to live rest of her life with fellow aajis and abbas at an old age home in Panvel called Shantivan. Aaji lived there for more than 4 years before she said the final goodbye.

My cousin used to visit her and always told me about how beautiful that place is and about various activities that are carried out in that surrounding apart from the old age home. Fortunately I happened to visit Shantivan this spring and had a wonderful experience, one of which was dhurrie weaving carried out by leprosy patients.

Many years ago when leprosy was treated as stigma, this rehabilitation centre was set up based on the Gandhian philosophy of swavalamban and labour of love. Leprosy patients are trained to weave dhurries so that they can earn a self-living with dignity. Today very few patients work here but the concept, vigour and work they produce are awe-inspiring.

These are cotton flat weave dhurries woven on basic floor looms using a punja. Most of the dhurries are made to order in customized sizes and colors. Dyed yarn is sourced from Bhivandi and Solapur – two of the biggest cotton weaving centres of Maharashtra. Basic kilim motifs are woven at regular repeats. What is more beautiful is the weaving of letters to make customised names as per order.

My abba has such a dhurrie with his name woven on it. He says it was made in Madras before I was born, which means it is more than 31 years old. I always believe textiles are such beautiful treasurers of myriad stories. I have treasured some beautiful pieces of textiles that my aaji has handmade - smell, texture and colors of which have countless memories stitched on to them.  

Know your Paithani, Dear Maushi

Dear Maushi,

This letter has long been pending and I thought today being the first National Handloom Day is an appropriate day to write. Thank you to GOI for marking such a day!

Firstly, I must tell you that you really boast my ego when you send pictures of your recently developed art and craft products or newly bought saree for my review! I feel that my little enthusiasm for textiles has seeped into the family as well. It is a nice feeling!

About a month back you shared some images of a Paithani saree you were gifted. Thank God it was a gift and you did not spend your earnings into that fake Paithani! But I feel depressed about the whole scenario that the person who bought it had no knowledge that she is buying a fake one and moreover the person who sold it is also unknown or has misguided purposely.  I know it is very difficult for a lay man to know the difference between the authentic and fake especially in the market today where there is a duplicate of almost everything. Polyester is sold as silk, print is sold as ikat and a jacquard is sold as paithani!

This is not Paithani!

Photographs sent on whats app by Mihir. 

I remember ajji’s paithani that you have. What a beauty she is! The fine interlacing of silk and pure gold… indeed a rate treasure!

As you know the most promising part in a paithani is its pallu decorated with motifs of peacocks, parrots, lotus’ amongst others and peacock being the most favourite. It will also be nice to know and acknowledge the tedious labour involved in the making of it, the skilled craftsmanship and the tradition which has seen centuries turn by.

Here are some pictures of making of the paithani, though these make no justice until the process is described in detail. But I do not intend to convert this letter into a thesis on Paithani!

 

 Photographs by Haris Pathirikodan at Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Unlike the rosogulla that is going through a debate on whether the GI rights are to be claimed by West Bengal or Orissa, the Maharashtrian Paithani has received its GI rights long back in 2010. These rights not only confirm the geographical area but also the historical origin, appropriate process of making and uniqueness of the craft.

The weaving of a paithani is such that it can be woven only on a handloom and not on a power loom.  It is difficult to give a brief explanation. So here are some basic specifics by which you can identify an authentic paithani:

1.     The motifs on the pallu have same color on the front and back side

2.     The pallu is a flat and even surface. No variation in thickness.

3.     No threads at the back side of the pallu are cut.

Traditionally, a paithani sari has motifs woven on the border and pallu both.  Keeping in mind affordability, revisions have been made where the motifs appear only on the pallu.

When you buy a traditional handloom saree, you not just buy a piece of cloth; you invest in the age old heritage of India and you sustain the second largest employment sector of our country. Isn’t that a wonderful feeling already?

Hope this letter inspires you enough to share the idea of identifying, buying  and using authentic traditional handwoven textiles.

Ending this letter with a poem by the weaver-poet Kabir

Weaving Your Name

I weave your name on the loom of my mind,

To make my garment when you come to me.

My loom has ten thousand threads

To make my garment when you come to me.

The sun and moon watch while I weave your name;

The sun and moon hear while I count your name.

These are the wages I get by day and night

To deposit in the lotus bank of my heart.

I weave your name on the loom of my mind

To clean and soften ten thousand threads

And to comb the twists and knots of my thoughts.

No more shall I weave a garment of pain.

For you have come to me, drawn by my weaving,

Ceaselessly weaving your name on the loom of my mind.

Love,

Aarti

Which fish?

Which fish do you want to be? A small big fish or a big small fish? 

Note: Big fish eats small fish.

SOCH : some new bags

Many of us have grown up with these kitschy colors, typical patterns, gallant textures and strong weaves... 

Yes! I'm talking about the Solapur chaddars! 

Worked on some new SOCH bags recently...

Unlike the boring rectangles, tried some ergonomic and trendy shapes. What do you think about them?

 More of SOCH here and here.

Bamboo Weaves

Bamboo, a very versatile natural material is in abundance here. Every thing from houses and furniture to plates and containers, tools and equipments is made of bamboo.
Bamboo Rocks and Bamboo Rules here!

Here are some woven structures used for the walls of houses.
Yo North East!

Runner Story + Wallpaper Wednesday

It is a fact! A found fact! I have mentioned this here. The placemats and runners that are sold in Crawford market "are" export rejects because of defects. Defects that you cannot make out, but I can ;)
During our discoveries last weekend, me and Dj encountered a whole godown storing beautiful runners, placemats, napkins, kitchen towels and much more... in the heart of the city, Crawford market. I picked up this multi-stripe runner from there! "Multi-stripe" is such an exportish word in textiles! All in spring-summer colors woven in Karur.
Well.. well.. have a look at the same runner here.
Yaay! It's a Pier 1 product and I have it just for 5.5 USD!! ;) I love Mumbai for this!!
And this also makes a colorful wallpaper for today!

Click on the image to download.

Hometown Love

I believe in IDEAS. I believe in FUN.
Therefore, I believe in FUN IDEAS!
As, FUN = LOVE

{Hometown LOVE + Fabric LOVE + LOVE for Bags}
=
{FUN + More FUN+ Much More FUN}

This equation is illustrated here...
Colorful and trendy, patterned and smart is what adds to this new "RECYCLED" development. Let me know what you think!
How about calling this line of products as "SOCH". SO for Solapur and CH for Chaddar!
I have thought of few more things for SOCH, those would be in different sizes, different shapes and different tastes too :)

More on Solapur Bags here.

Scottish Wool

It’s been quite a long time that Vaishali is back from London. She was waiting for her cargo to arrive and I was waiting for what is there for me in that!! The cargo arrives and gets for me some awesome samples of woven Scottish wool. Fulled herringbone mufflers in red and beige… just loved them. Though it is never winters in Mumbai, and that I have had the maximum experience of winters for three seasons in Ahmedabad, I surely look forward to spend more nice chilly days to flaunt around with these mufflers.

Herringbone Weave 

These are made in UK from of 100% lambs wool. Scottish wool reminds me of things learnt during academics about landscape of Scotland being very suitable for nurturing and growth of sheep and lambs. Some story also says that the Greek hero Thesus had to enter a labyrinth to fight the devil, he took along a ball of wool and dropped the thread as a trail on his way inside so that it will help him get back rightly and safely. This is the kind of significance wool has in Scotland. This story is similar to what Sita did when Ravana dragged her to Lanka. One by one she dropped her jewellery on the way so that Lord Rama would find it and then make his way to rescue her.

Fringe and edge detail

These are not woven on as short width. Woven as broader widths and then are customized to various sizes. The muffler does not have a selvedge and neither a hem at the long side. A single stitch line completes the finish with the weft yarns making a nice detail on its own. The beautifully worked rolled fringes on the short sides add value and the fulling or brushing of the fabric keeps the edge and the fringes intact.

Also tried to be a bit creative with the camera… here are the results!

PS: The best thing to gift me is a piece of textile typical and special to any place on earth! Thanks Vaishali!! :)

Happy Woman's Day!

It's time to celebrate... thank GOD, we are WOMEN!!

Designs for woven apparel fabrics for women wear. Designs by me and illustrations not by me.

Woven Fabrics

New woven textures from Cannanore, these are fabric swatches developed for upholstery. A combination of color, weaves and textures makes this a complete collection of dobby fabrics.

Solapur Bags

Pishvi in marathi, kothada in guajarati, chila in kannada and sanchi in teulgu, thaili in hindi or a chick tote bag… call it whatever but it remains a simple and useful basic bag of its kinds. Everyone uses such a bag at least once in life and many have their lives revolving around this.

I pass through many street shops selling such basic bags everywhere, but there is something different about such shops in Solapur. They also sell bags unique to Solapur and those are the bags stitched from chaddars. These bags are referred to as ‘Chadarichya pishvya’ in Marathi.

Bag seller @ Lakshmi market, Solapur

Variety of Bags at the above shop

These bags are made from the jacquard woven chaddar fabrics which either are excess pieces from the loom or are initial weave trials or either have some weave defects. These are purchased from the weaving units and are locally stitched on a small scale for local market sales. You might find this a very mundane thing but NO! It is an ingenious sustainable product. Made from excess/waste, this bag also adds to employment to some extent and is also very useful.
I got the above bag from my grandfather and he tells me that it is about 25 years old. And that means it is older than me! He had bought this bag for Rs. 3/-. Now you just have to add a zero to this which makes it Rs. 30/-. Striking motifs unambiguously woven into colorful stripes are simply superb. These bags are my current subject of interest for exploration. Wait for it... it is going to be legendary!!

Today's Inspiration: Wreath

The One Minute Writer: a blog which I liked the most in the past couple of days. Today's writing prompt it says: inspiring. What is inspiring you today?
Today, I was inspired by a 'wreath'. Inspired by its form, its structure and its components, I started designing patterns and fabrics with 'wreath' as a theme. (Work in progress). A wreath, I always though was only used for Christmas decorations. The dictionary defines the wreath as 'a circular band of flowers, foliage, or any ornamental work, for adorning the head or for any decorative purpose; a garland or chaplet.'

Image: Table linen from the 'Summertime' collection. Copyright 2009 Tracon espl. Photo Credits: Malhar Sawant

After this part of information collection for the day, I thought of this photograph, where a delicate stalk of a creeper is used to tie up the placemat for a good composition. (It is hardly visible, but one can try and see it at the extreme right of the image.) Its a wreath, it is circular, made of leaves, used for a decorative purpose and in a different context.

A few more details about the photograph: Woven table cloth and placemat designed by Aarti Badamikar, woven in Karur. Art direction by Mahesh Jagtap/Niteen Rangdal. The wreath/coffee beans conception and photography by Malhar Sawant.

Solapur: No Identity Crisis

 
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Where do you come from? What is your native place? Which place do you belong to? These are a few questions I’m frequently encountered with. And my answer to this is ‘Solapur’. Quite a times a response to this answer is very annoying, sometimes satisfactory and just once was funny.

“Oh! Ya! Solapur, the place famous for chappals. Right?”

“No. That’s Kolhapur. And it is Kolhapuri chappals”, I answer back, “Jar Kolhapur Maharashtra-la chappal ghalta, tar Solapur akkhya Maharashtra-war panghrun ghalta.”

Mallikarjun Temple, Solapur

“Solapur and Kolhapur is very close by na?”

“No. It’s quite far away”, plainly I answer.

I accept that my geographical knowledge is not awesome, but I would never ask stupid questions like: “Is Ahmedabad close to Ahmednagar?” or “Are Jamshedpur and Jabalpur twin cities?” I’m almost sure that people who ask such questions do not know that Hyderabad and Secundrabad are twin cities.

Once I also got a witty reply saying, “Toh Satrapur kahan aata hai?”

I never had thought ‘Solapur’ (16 pur) in Hindi! :)

“I know, Solapur. It comes on the way to Chennai by rail! You get amazing pav-bhaji at the station.”

Wow! That’s something I didn’t know. I never had a chance to eat at the station. Yes, being an important junction, people traveling by train atleast know that there is this place called Solapur on the way and that one must try the yummy pav-bhaji there. Well, it is not so famous as the ‘Agre (Agra) ka petha’, ‘Lonavala chi chikki’ or ‘Shegaon chi kachori’.

“Solapur, it is famous for chaddars, right?”

“Yes”, I reply blissfully and thankfully.

Either people are not aware or either that ‘striking something’ is missing in Solapur. Yes, there is something and needs to be made striking enough. Here, I do not wish to write a boring document on Solapur, but to add a few things I cherish about my native place…

Solapur proudly houses one of the oldest temples in the Deccan, the beautiful Siddheshwar Temple. The temple is situated at the center of a lake with a fort lined at its backdrop. It is a pleasant ambiance especially in the evenings. I did not miss to capture a few scenes from in and around the temple as my treasured landscape paintings.

Siddheshwar Temple at its entrance.

Solapur is located in south Maharashtra and thus many of its attributes have influences from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Three states, three cultures and three languages all at one place i.e. Solapur. An anthropologist will surely love this place.

Last but not the least is the weaving industry in Solapur. “A great opportunity under estimated by the textile people themselves”, is all what I can as of now. I wish to change this statement of mine in to a very affirmative one soon and am striving towards it. As I have decided, I won’t go into passive things and wonder about how things happen. I just know that it is an opportunity which I cannot afford missing and I also believe in what Winston Churchill says: “Who dares wins.”

A Jacquard fabric woven in Solapur

Anu writs a short and beautiful paragraph about her experience of Solapur fabrics on her blog here. I'm glad I found this post based on a personal experience. It outstands the rest of stereotypic data found on the net (atleast for me).

When I choose textiles as my career, many people pointed at me saying, “Why textiles?”, “Mills have closed down. What are you going to do?”, “Textile is going to take you nowhere.” Foolish people have forgotten that fabric/cloth is one of the basic necessities of man. Yes, mills were closed down in Solapur and even in Mumbai. Those were composite mills and had its own set of difficulties. But fabric manufacturing did not stop. Solapur did not have any other means of survival and thus it fell back. Mumbai being a metro city had a lot other threads to live on. On the same mill land today, people in Mumbai spend bundles of cash and most of the time it is for clothes and fabrics, isn’t it? High Street Phoenix, familiar as Phoenix Mill. It is called the ‘Mill to Mall’ culture in Mumbai. But I am glad that I’m into textiles. It has taken me back to my roots.

Juni Mill, Solapur

Spring Summer 2010

Hi there!

Logging in to blogger is just not it!!

It's now I guess I have started real blogging. Hope to post many interesting things here... looking forward for an interesting blog-relation with you all.

Cheers!!
XOXO
Aarti

Something very fresh of my works makes my first post...

Image: Waffle kitchen towels woven in Karur. Five colors representing the five color stories for SS10

Photo Credits: Malhar Sawant
Copyright 2009 Tracon espl


The radiant sun unfolding its orange glory,
Fills with vermilion warmth the gentle scenery.
Limpid skies neighbouring the aqua marina,
With new spreads of emerald on the sienna.
Many are the colours of Mother Nature,
Rejuvenating the fresh Spring and Summer.

Colour and trend forecasting is indeed a very interesting job. These five colours were proposed as the spring colors for 2010 Tracon espl, an export house working from Mumbai and Karur. More info about Tracon can be seen here.
Each color forms a complete story with coordinating colours. This could have had an additional purple color but purple being a very 'fall' color was eliminated. But on the later revelation of facts or to be called 'the made facts' purple was the so called 'in' color of Spring 2010. Now here is a point! Who decides all this? "The so called Trend Setters".
It is very interesting to find out, how does one color becomes 'the color of the season' and the whole world follows the same trend. All this is in the context of export market. In India still colour trends are not followed that well because of different people having different tastes. Well, to put in other words, I would like to say that Indians are self contextualized and do not blindly follow someone saying something about color and saying that-this-is-the-right-colour!!