Today is National Handloom Day… On this day Aug 7, in 1905 the Swadeshi movement was launched in response to the colonial masters dividing Bengal. The Swadeshi movement was about boycotting British goods and promoting indigenous industries, thereby becoming economically self reliant. Bharat has a rich handloom tradition… the cloth woven in Bharat were/are coveted not just in Britain but across the world.
The Colonial British tried to finish off the Bharatiya Handloom industry by imposing huge taxes making it difficult to compete in the world market. Their policies ensured that weaving clusters were shut down or moved to places where they couldn’t flourish. The result was de-industrialization of Bharat. The power loom cloth that was mass produced in Manchester gained ground because it was cheap.
The Swadeshi movement was the first Nationalist movement ….. and PM Modi has beautifully brought history into the current context by declaring Aug 7th as the National Handloom Day. It’s Swadeshi movement 2.0. The second largest employer in Bharat is the textile industry and our handlooms are our cultural heritage. The world will be poorer without handlooms from Bharat.
Do read my post from 2023 – National Handloom Day 2023 – Mysore Silk Saree. This year I celebrated with a stunning hand woven Ilkal saree.
Ilkal Sarees
My first “Ilkal” saree was bought from my friend Devika’s store Ithy-Adee. Then over the years, I kept seeing Vrunda Shekar posting about the Ilkal sarees and her collection was stunning !!! I got introduced to her through a common friend and fellow saree lover, Vidya, and we just clicked. That’s the best way to say it because we found so many things in common :).
For this National Handloom Day, I wore a stunning Black and Green Ilkal that I bought from Vrunda’s store Bhuvee. Fair Warning – if you love handloom sarees, and you click on the Bhuvee link, I will bet that you will buy more than one saree :). Vrunda’s collection is awesome and her dedication to keeping the Ilkal sarees alive is commendable.
The cotton Ilkal saree is such a pleasure to drape… it’s cool in the sweltering heat and looks like a million bucks.
Ilkal sarees are woven using cotton warp on the body and art silk warp for border and art silk warp for pallu portion of the Saree. In some cases instead of art silk, pure silk is also used. Ilkal saree has been accorded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The uniqueness of Saree is joining of the body warp with pallu warp with a series of loops locally called as TOPE TENI technique. Pallu portion-Design: “TOPE TENI SERAGU”
It was wonderful to see Kristen Wright, Miss World Australia 2022, walk the ramp in a saree at the recently concluded Miss World pageant in Mumbai. She looks great. Actually the saree is such a versatile piece of cloth !! The saree is probably the only attire where every woman of any age and from any country looks great and fashionable. It’s also the only garment that can change from formal to casual to party wear by just changing the drape !!
On this National Handloom Day, let’s bring a smile to the weaver and add some handloom textile to our wardrobes. It’s the most inexpensive art that you can wear everyday and enjoy.
#ILoveHandloom #VocalForLocal
Thank you for the highlighted the glorious history of Bharat mam. Saree and the colour is stunning mam.
Thanks Gopinath