AUGUST 2021

Webinar On Textiles To Celebrate National Handloom Day.

Akshar celebrated National Handloom Day on the 5th of August, 2021. Our special guest Mr. Bappaditya Biswas, one of India's foremost textile experts who has been creating mastery weaves over the last decade and more to redefine Bengal Handloom, creator of the brand Bai Lou, winner of the UNESCO Seal of Excellence conducted the empowering webinar with the senior school children. He strongly believes that our future generation, our children should be exposed to the importance of our textiles and heritage.

Mr. Biswas spent the first half an hour giving children a hands on feel of how the fabric is constructed by simulating a cardboard loom, wrapping the warp yarn and interlacing it with weft yarn (the simplest possible weave-plain weave) . Students enjoyed the exercise as it was extremely exciting to be able to create a fabric. They found it magical.

By being able to hold their attention, he showed slides on the various weaves like Jamdani, entrapped sequins , pocket weaving , all his experiments which make his cloth construction unique.

The webinar ended with a discussion on the relevance of handloom and textiles in our lives and in the current times. He stressed on sustainability, zero waste, zero carbon footprint, recycling, reusing in the field of handloom. Thus the session triggered awareness and appreciation for handloom amongst the students and teachers.

Students Speak...

The webinar taught me quite a few things, an obvious one would be how important it is to help those weavers earn their keep not through pity but through appreciation of their art and livelihood. Another thing that struck me was how important it was to not forget ones root and history and keep age old tradition alive. Thank You very much for making us realise this important lesson. I really enjoyed listening to you and weaving !

A short activity was conducted through which the students got a glimpse of the love, care and effort that goes into producing a piece of handloom cloth. This webinar also gave us an opportunity to learn about the invisible forces working behind the scenes which aid in the creation of the finished pieces we admire so much.
The students were also educated about the benefits that come with buying handloom products and encouraged to choose these over mass-produced goods. It was a very meaningful session which left us with valuable insights into the world of handloom and its sustainability for conservation of our resources for future generations.

I enjoyed the process of making a cloth.. As sir mentioned that how our mothers and grandmothers never throw old sarees even if they have holes or of it is torn.. I remembers how my grandmother turned my great grandmother's saree into a quilt..
After Sir Bappaditya explained the entire process of making a Jamdani saree I understood why handloom sarees are expensive and as I love to wear sarees now onwards I would make sure that I only buy handloom sarees.