HANDLOOMS – Part of our Past, or Hope for the Future?

Handlooms are the warp and weft of India – our culture and aesthetics are rooted in its threads. Each fabric tells a story; the raw material, motif and design rooted in the landscape and community. [caption id="attachment_197970" align="alignnone" width="624"] Often forgotten is that handlooms are also a major part of our economy. (Photo Source: IE)[/caption]   Two successive years of COVID and lockdowns have changed the Indian economy – destroying lives and livelihoods as a consequence. The handloom sector has been no exception – weaver communities all over India have been decimated. Mohd Dilshad is a handloom weaver from Chanderi, weaving diaphanous, gold-edged sarees spelling summer and celebration. Today his story is bleaker. “Last year,” he recounted, “we were short of food, we didn’t have money for new production. These days we are worried about life and death. The Corona virus reached our villages. It was everywhere, and there is no nearby hospital, no proper medical supplies. 12 artisans died in the first fortnight. 200 more got infected the following day.” His story is only one of hundreds of handloom communities across India. Tragically, this year Covid struck the hinterland, with districts and villages everywhere in the grip of sickness and death. With few proper medical facilities, the percentage of deaths was proportionately high. The weaver community in Kota had 160 deaths,...