Women of weaves

Bright hues, interesting drapes, smiles and laughter marked the celebration of National Handloom Day on Wednesday, as eminent people from different walks of life came together to celebrate the weavers and their hard work.

Organised by women-only societies —Narayanpet Swashakti Mahila MAC, Mayitri Ikat Mahila Chenetha and Mahila Ikat Chaitanya Hasta Kala — the event was ably supported by Creative Bee Foundation and Abhihaara Social Enterprise — who have since years been the torch bearers of women empowerment and encouraging women weavers to be at the forefront (particularly from Narayanpet). At this event too, women weavers who have been involved in the intricate pre-loom processing of yarn or post-loom work of stitching and embroidery were felicitated.

The event began with Y. Venkanna Netha, Telangana-based designer and founder of Handloom Day taking the stage to talk about the essence of handloom, followed by the guests of honour —Anuradha Gunupati, founder of Saptaparni; Dr Manjula Anagani, gynaecologist and laparoscopic surgeon; Chitra Sood, Director - business development, Microsoft CSR Lead; Renu Desai, actress; Shreemathy Mohan, textile researcher and revivalist; Jhansi Lakshmi, actress and Venkat Siddareddy, film director to name a few, along with the Chief Guest, Professor Shantha Sinha, anti-child labour activist.

Ably hosted by Swapna, singer and handloom advocate, the event concluded with a fashion show where models walked the ramp sporting creations in Ikat and Narayanpet weaves designed by Bina Rao, Hemanth Siri and Rama Rabbapragada.