Sarees – A six yard of weaved thread worn proudly by Indian women irrespective of class, region, caste. A sheer symbol of elegance, this piece of clothing connects India across its vast geography. This piece of clothing has a rich history and over period of time the entire market and demand of it has came a long way.
In different parts of the country various art forms/ weaving styles evolved over time giving a special identity to the local artisans. A few famous works as we know them are – Banarasi/ Kanjiveram/ Bandhni/ Maheshwari/ Gota Patti/ Pochampalli/ Garhwali/ Phulkari/ Chikankari to name a few among others. Most of these art forms are passed on from one generation to another and even with the hardships involved, a weaver after spending anything between 2 weeks to 6 months after completion of his masterpiece looks at it with utter pride. Today we see these patterns circulated around the world and often mistakenly attribute it to the advancement of technology but in reality Indian Handicrafts have always been a thing of awe for entire globe. The merchants, like us today, used to buy these merchandise from artisans across the country and often from remotest of the regions of the country and take it to the world. For these merchants special travel routes were developed like for instance Silk road or special sea routes connecting India/ China to that time of Superpowers in Europe, that was the sheer demand of these masterpieces and importance of the merchants who take them to world. Yeah today definitely we dont have to travel like those legendary merchants across the globe and here the technology has given our age an advantage that now we can sit in one small city of India and yet could take the crafts of these artisans to entire world.
These ancient art forms should continue to thrive so that artisans sitting in a small village of Banaras or Maheshwar or Kancheepuram can pass on these talents to the next generation, without any worry of their future. Merchants like us try to be a small contributor in this historic connection (between artisans, merchants and patrons) and brings an excellent opportunity to the doorsteps of the customers to be a part of history, Together we keep these arts alive.
