I love my Indian textiles and colour spectrum, the weaves, the embroidery edits, the print profiles. The saree does perhaps more justice than any other attire to the richness of our handwoven traditions. I wear them anywhere everywhere, only sarees! Qissaas of yore, the beautiful heritage and art of weaving handed down through generations now becoming defunct.

A generation of Uber cool youngsters who now think that wearing Indian attire is uncool. No sarees or dhoti kurtas for weddings. It is gowns and suits. Emulating a culture not our own. Running away? Why? Why not? A saree is not fashionable? Its all in the mind I think.

It was a surreal moment when Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, dressed in traditional Bengali attire, received the Nobel Prize in Economics in Sweden. A dhoti with a Nehru jacket – a Bandhgala  going back to his Bengali roots. . He looked dapper and handsome and very comfortable on stage with luminaries wearing tuxedos and bow ties. He has taken the social media by storm as there is a torrent of tweets, and facebook posts et al. His wife Esther Duflo, his co awardee stole my heart. She wore a handloom saree and looked elegant. She is of French American origin and needn’t have worn one but it shows her bonding with her Indian roots by marriage.  Epitomising weavers and their ilk.

 

As the two of them speak of poverty alleviation, causes and solutions, their presence on the global stage  in Indian attire makes an impactful statement for our economy which is dominated by the weaving industry. The industry which may well be on its last legs as handlooms have been overtaken by shiny machine made alternatives, cheaper glitzier, material lacking the soul, the personal touch, the sheer skill and artistry of the artisan. Unless we espouse their cause and respect their labour contributing to a fair wage by buying authentic fabrics at a decent price, this industry will spiral into a self destruct mode.

 

The prize winners have researched ways to measure the effectiveness of actions (such as government programmes) in improving people’s lives. Learning outcomes improved in schools that were provided with teaching assistants to help students with special needs.

 

Similarly helping weavers to source reasonable material and finding a suitable market will help their cause and directly impact the economy. This thought makes me happiest as my treasured textiles will not become a museum relic but a vibrant, living tradition. Articulated indirectly by none other than the Economics Nobel prize winners for the year 2019. Proud moment for India indeed!