Inside the upscale Bergamo mall on Khader Nawaz Khan Road, a destination for all things luxury, there’s an interesting idea at work. I. Subbalakshmi, 32, and I. Lakshmikumari, wearing bright saris, sit at the entrance, bags by their side. In front of them is what they’ve been creating over the past few days — pretty pink-and-white and green-and-white crochet flowers and intricate leaves. Walk less than 20 metres to the Caravan store, and you’ll see how their work has been used.
‘Whiff of Wild Flowers’, Caravan’s latest line, features wispy crochet flowers that embellish garments in subtle natural colours (peaches, pinks and soft beiges) in fabrics such as ecru, cotton and khadi. The crochet detailing can be seen in the scattered floral trims, a pop of colour on an austere palette, reminiscent of a floral carpet in the park on a wind-blown day.
Inviting Subbalakshmi and Lakshmikumari to Chennai is part of Caravan founder Kunal Sachdev’s plan to ensure more interaction between the artisans and end-users. “This is the first time we’ve brought our artistes to Chennai. We’ve featured toymakers from Chennapatna, weavers from West Bengal and Kalamkari artistes from Srikalahasti in our other outlets, and hope to bring them here too,” he says. “Only some crafts suit this concept of being demonstrated in a mall environment. Many are too complex to be explained. These visits serve dual purposes — clients recognise the intricacies of these crafts and realise what it takes to create a unique garment, and artisans finally understand what they’ve been involved in,” he adds.
Inside the artisans’ bags are three coloured bundles of thread and many crochet needles. As they speak, their bangle-bedecked hands work magic, and before you realise it, there is a small bunch of flowers ready on the table. Joining them are two mobile phone pouches. They saw the staff at the store carry pouches and immediately replicated them using crochet.
But, things were not as easy some years ago. Cousins Subbalakshmi and Lakshmikumari, who’ve been together since school in Mogalthur village in West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, picked up crochet seeing their mothers and grandmothers do it. “Our stitches would be loose, and lacked finesse. Now, with constant training, many of us in the village have learnt to adapt to new designs and improvise upon existing ones,” says Subbalakshmi. Lakshmikumari recalls how they’ve progressed from the time they made crochet pillow cases, bed spreads, tea doilies, and the like. Crocheting has also improved their financial health; the women earn enough to be able to invest on behalf of the family, pay insurance premium and indulge themselves once in a while. Lakshmikumari still smiles when she speaks about what she bought 25 years ago with her first income — a half sari.
Even as they travel down memory lane with the aid of a translator to explain what crochet and this trip — their first outside home — mean to them, Subbalakshmi’s face lights up, seeing a shrug bearing exquisite crochet work. “Till we came here,” she says, “we looked at crochet as something we did without thought. But now, we know how this craft is cherished. In the process, we’ve discovered our worth.”
The artisans will be at the store till this afternoon. For details, call 4214 0370.
