Everything in the pandemic has taken a backseat. All the businesses have been functioning virtually. Even shopping has taken a shift and people are shopping online. This trend is here to stay. The online shopping of saris is here. It celebrates designs in six yards and brings alive the country’s looms that have been silent because of the pandemic.
Madhurya Creations’ online shopping of saris
Now that the nation is opening up after the lockdown, people do not particularly think of buying handloom saris. Such is the thought of Bharathy Harish, coordinator of Madhurya Creations in Bengaluru. COVID-19 has been a very difficult time for weavers. “Diverse communities with unique weaving patterns developed over the last 5,000 years are our country’s pride and joy. It is our duty to help our weavers. Towards that end, Madhurya Creations is hosting House of Heritage, an online project to help weavers showcase their unsold stock.”
Know about Madhurya Creations
Madhurya Creations aims to revive the traditional arts and crafts of India. “We work with weavers from several parts of the country including Kanchipuram, Uppada, Paithan, Chanderi, Maheshwar, Banaras, Kota, Phulia and Ilkal in North Karnataka. We create designs that combine motifs and patterns from different parts of the country.” stated Bharathy.
The online shopping of saris aims to help weavers
Bharathy said that weavers have been unable to sell what they had woven before lockdown. “They have been forced to look for alternative employment as construction workers or domestic help. There are entire weaving villages that have no other means of income. If we make a conscious decision to support these weavers during the festival season, it will go a long way in keeping their looms alive.”
Now you too can shop in the online sari festival
With 1,080 weavers together, the online showcase will have saris for all occasions, ranging from daily wear to bridal wear and everything in between. One of Madhurya Creations’ special saris is Uppada saris. “It is woven in the jamdani style by a handful of weavers in the village of Uppada in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. We are not only reviving traditional designs but are also focusing on current trends in terms of colour and motifs.” she added.
The symbolism behind the saris
Bharathy says people attempt to know the meaning of traditional motifs and weaves on social media. For example, what is the significance of Benarsi silk for weddings? “Varanasi is one of the oldest cities of the world and is in some sense, eternal. When people get married, they want their relationship to last forever. The Benarasi sari symbolises this perfectly.”
Shop at the regal collection
According to The Hindu, the House of Heritage has a Royal Selection featuring saris chosen by 25 women of royal lineage. Shailaraje Pawar of Dhar in Madhya Pradesh states, “My family supports the handmade Bagh prints of Dhar district. Weavers of the region have been patronised by our forefathers, and we will continue to do this.”
Rasika Prakash and Divyashree Kumari of Sirmur, Uttarakhand, say that they love hand-painted and printed, as well as gold and silver thread zari on chiffons.
Mayurakshi Singh of Arki in Himachal Pradesh said, “We must have initiatives that adapt to changing trade and consumer patterns. By our purchase of a national handloom product we would be incentivising a fading craft.”
The sale will continue till Deepavali. For details,
Click here to visit official website of Madhurya Creations
