When I met the weavers of Shakuripara village, Mulberry,Assam, I was taken in by their quiet strength. Particularly, Pranita, one of the group leaders who mobilises and continuously inspires and motivates the group. She was happy to present to us a song, written by her, set in a popular local tune which broadly meant this -"We, from the village are backward and need to go forward and link up with people who are educated, without forgetting our own culture, ethnicity and language. We should take pride in our weaving skills, weave the clothes we wear, our identity." ... and when the women sang together, it made such a strong impact on me.. here, was a woman from a village in the North East, appealing to her own sisters to not forget their heritage.. while many of us in the cities have long forgotten their value.. we too have to find every which way possible to make everyone aware of our textile heritage and the beauty of handmade crafts.. The crepes, the georgettes, the satins and the chiffons maybe beautiful and sensuous... but these mill made fabrics do not have stories to tell... the narratives created by hands and hearts, not machines... ------------------ April 8, 2017... Shakuripara,Assam "This morning as I spoke to the co-ordinator at Mulberry to check on the progress of the designs, my thoughts went back to the day spent at Shakuripara, with the women weavers there.. As I looked around for a volunteer among the mekhla-chadar clad women, to drape the first sari that was ready, to give them an idea about their work ahead, my eyes fell on the pretty Manokhi, who was wearing a pink blouse, that would perfectly match the sari.. She was such a willing volunteer...so excited who kept giggling saying she loves modelling.And what a natural and confident model she turned out to be.. The way she moved, playing around with the palla attempting different drapes, sitting through the whole interactive session like a breeze, exhibited so much poise that belied her daily mundane village life. She even spoke to the whole group about the way she felt, the drape of the sari, the comfort, the design.. impromptu.. As I watched her, I kept thinking that at her age, I used to be so tongue-tied and would have hardly managed to mumble a word or two.." By the way, the last time I checked, Manokhi has long moved on. She had taken up a job and doesn't have time to weave anymore... ----------- As Bihu is being celebrated today, my mind invariably goes back toAssam.. And remembers this spirited young girl who danced away and kept smiling all the time.. Bihu also played cupid in her life, while she was still a schoolgirl, when she met her future husband during one of the dances... Only 23, she is a young mother of two kids now.. but still a happy child herself... ---- Notes from my journal, posted on FB, April 2017
