“Handloom Week !”

 Our traditional handlooms depict bundles of flowers blooming to life,  the grace of the swans frozen in time, the extravagant flourish of the peacock’s tail,  the ripening succulence of the baby mango and so many other fruits of creativity.

 They are the legacy of generations of Indian culture.

The soft caress of a baby’s cotton cloth, the grandeur of a bride’s magnificent silks, the fine layers of perfection in a mother’s attire, and the macho display of a father’s pancha. No amount of description can do justice to the intrinsic aesthetic appeal of the Indian loom.

Extravagance, refined elegance, and subtle perfection expertly woven by the nimble hands of generations of Indian artisans. They are our cultural inheritance.

A baby opening her eyes to the world cocooned in the softness of cotton.  A girl hiding behind her mother’s ‘dupatta’ in innocent naughtiness.  A boy twirling an invisible moustache playing pretend as a king using his father’s upper cloth as a prop.  These are some of the sweet memories from our childhood we cherish for life.

The revolutionary idea of self reliance propagated by a simple turn of the charkha by Gandhiji brought to knees the might of the British Empire.  The spinning wheel of the Indian handloom helped our society cling onto its cultural identity by being the signature of the freedom struggle against the oppressive British regime.

Shouldn’t we pass the baton of the cultural brilliance that is our handloom heritage to the future of this country? Shouldn’t we pay tribute to the talented and hard working artisans of our country of immense diversity?

Prabhava is taking a small step to pay tribute to a diminishing cottage industry and noting the cultural significance of the handloom through the “Handloom Week!”

It’s time to open up your child’s wardrobe and search through their clothes looking for ‘muslin jubbahs’, ‘pattu pavadas’, ‘khadhi lalchis’, ‘noolu’ gowns or any such handloom.  Let us, the teachers, parents and children, wear handlooms for the next week celebrating our handloom heritage in honour of the Mahatma, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

Dress Code:

24^th September to 1 st October   :  Any handloom dress

2 October, Gandhi Jayanthi   :  White handloom dress

***
Also," చేనేత వారం ! "    @                           
 http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1492899372023417026#allposts***

Prabhava,Books and Beyond ! * All rights reserved.