Of Weaves Red and White...My Journey
This is the story of my ongoing journey as regards the Kunbi weave. I have felt about this journey that 'The universe conspired and pieces of the puzzle fell in place'.
But first a chronology of events:
Jan 31 2016 Joined Kai Thari (Handloom group on FB)
Sept 2016 Discussion started by Savitha Suri on Kai Thari (KT) about Kunbi Saree
March 12 2017 KT’s launch of Kunbi saree
April 25 2017 My first visit to Baburao Tilve
May 14 2017 Bringing home the Kunbi
Sept 03 2017 Gave the ‘Original’ Kunbi saree its due by wearing it in a fashion show organized by Kalyanmayee for the first time
Sept 20 2018 Kunbi rocks at Fashion Show once again
Nov 13 2020 Tributary visit to Tilve Kaka
The Beginning
My interest in handlooms started when I first visited the ‘Paramparik Karigar’ exhibition in 2014. I was amazed at the exhibits by non-profit and fair trade organisations like Aranya. I remember buying a jamdaani stole from Rajib Debnath’s stall. I also met the talented Mrs Arati Hiremath of Kasuti - Pride of Karnataka. In 2014, we visited Munnar. Aranya, in Munnar, was already on the itinerary.
It was happening gradually. Yet, I don’t have the slightest memory of what inspired me to know more about handlooms in India. Why did I go to the exhibition as far as Kalaghoda in the first place? Was it only because I happened to visit Goethe Institut, as part of my regular visits back then, to visit friends there? Not sure.
I also don’t remember who added me to Kai Thari (KT), the very first FB group dedicated to handlooms, started in 2015 by Sumita Pai. When I searched today on FB, the first post on that group is dated January 31 2016. It was about an event conducted in our colony under the guidance of our former Regional Executive Director, Western Region, Airports Authority of India, Mrs Hemlatha, on the various drapes of India. I was wearing a 40 yr old nine yard Indori saree, a memory of my grandmother.
For a middle class Maharashtrian, who grew up in the western suburbs of Mumbai, and later, in the heart of Pune, knowledge about handlooms or about sarees was not a part of the usual discourse. Especially since Mumbai was the first Indian city where textile mills were set up. So, my lack of knowledge about handlooms was de riguer. Obviously, the distinction between handloom and powerloom was quite beyond the pale. Over the months, therefore, I started learning about the various weaves of India. I was properly dumbfounded in getting to know the myriad intricacies!
And one day, in August 2016, as I visited the ‘Paramparik Karigar’ exhibition at World Trade Centre, I saw the Kunbi saree displayed at a stall manned by one of Wendell Roderick’s employees. That was my first tryst with the name ‘Kunbi saree’.
At around the same time, Savitha Suri posted about the Kunbi saree on KT, and her attempt to bring the Kunbi saree in its original color combinations to the forefront. Things were moving fast on KT. Discussions were in progress as to how to go about getting the saree woven, how to place an order, etc.
Let us take a small digression towards the Kunbis. The name of the community was familiar since it is a very strong community in the entire Konkan belt, specifically so in the Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra. But the weave, as mentioned there, belonged to Goa. So, the fact that the Kunbis lived in Goa too, was in itself a revelation! A sudden thought passed through the mind. Geographical boundaries are made by politicians. The common man continues to live his life as usual, trying to survive with the changing times.
Returning to the topic, Kai Thari had already completed two fruitful years of discussions on handlooms of India. It was time the group did something constructive, rather than just being a forum to learn about the weaves. And, the first batch of Kunbi sarees, reached the admins of the group in March 2017. This was just before the second annual meet of members of the Mumbai chapter of KT. The Kunbi saree of KT was, thereafter, launched on March 12 2017 under the title of #Spoorthi !
April 25 2017...Life takes a decisive turn
Paliyem! A small village on the border of Maharashtra and Goa; nestled in silence in the Pernem or Pedne taluk of Goa. We cross the beautiful Kiranpaani creek and enter into Goa. Paliyem silently welcomes us. Once the handloom hub of Goa, where ladies proudly adorned the kunbi kashtis, Paliyem itself has now silently given way to powerloom fabric.
The Kunbi on my mind, I set off on a road trip to Goa with my family. We had been to Goa almost five times. But this trip was special. We travelled to Paliyem, reading information from a blog by Pantaleon Fernandes, ‘Goa Streets’. We reached the village panchayat of Paliyem and stopped to enquire. And there, in the lanes behind the Vetal temple, stood the small house of Shri Baburao Babaji Tilve.
Looms covered with a dusty cloth in the front courtyard of the house, it was not impossible to recognize the house of the only ‘Haatmagwale’. He welcomed us to his modest home and explained to us his story.
He was awarded the Certificate of Excellence in the field of Sculpture for the year 2013-14 by the Directorate of Art and Culture, Goa. He showed us his work, which now remained only as samples of a gamchha, or a hand towel. Sadly, he is the last weaver of the State of Goa. He has been paralysed since three years and can’t even set the loom. His son is not interested in taking the art further because the ‘haatmag’ cannot keep the home fires burning.
Baburao also showed us how he used to spin the wheel, transfer long threads onto small spools and then weave ‘kashtis’. We could see his enthusiasm despite ailing health and with virtually no signs of the survival of his love of life…the Kunbi weave. But there was no hint of a complaint anywhere. We wished him faster recovery, to which he just smiled. He had seen the halcyon days of the Kunbi. He wanted to just remember those.
Baburao Tilve now runs a small shop selling daily items for a living. He was so happy to find that we had travelled from Mumbai to visit him that he offered us cold drinks. When we declined, he gifted us some mint. His warmth and simplicity left us on the verge of tears. We bid him goodbye; yet he accompanied us unto the car and waived at us as we started off from the village.
Having resolved to place his story on social media, especially KT, we left the place with a heavy heart. As this piece is being written, the poignant memories of that visit still evoke the feeling of having misplaced something unnamed yet something dear.
#Mothersday #Kunbi #मायमाझी
Celebrations are a part of life. But how one celebrates makes us the person we are. It was Mother's Day. There would have been no better way to celebrate the day than the way we did by spending the entire morning session in the company of the Kunbi Master weaver, Baburao Tilve.
It was like home coming for me. Coming to the Motherland of the Kunbi draped in Kunbi weave! The moment of celebration was when he recognized it to be the authentic weave!! The ladies in the ancestral Tilve home were happy to see all three of us, Savitha Suri, Radhika Srinivasan and myself, in Kunbi sarees. It was of course a once in a life time experience!!
September 3 2017 The Kunbi saree rocks!
#Kalyanmayee #Ganeshotsav2017 #NewAirportColony #Kunbi
What an evening! The new season of Kalyanmayee's events kick started with a bang, with the new President of Kalyanmayee, Mrs Jyoti Sharma taking charge. (Kalyanmayee is the CSR initiative of Airports Authority of India). A grand fashion show of kids, juniors, dazzling divas, handsome hunks, and mommies was planned!! They set the stage on fire.
It was a big day for me too. Walked the ramp for the first time. And that too in a #Kunbi_saree of a contemporary design! The cherry on the cake was when we had a surprise guest, Digambar bhau Naik, who came visiting our pandal. He mentioned that he too belonged to Paliyem, the birth place of the Kunbi weave!! Bappa, I could not have wished for anything more. Ganpati Bappa Morya!
Sept 19 2018 Kunbi – The Showstopper!
#Kalyanmayee #Ganeshotsav2018 #NewAirportColony #Gratitude
It was a herculean task to inspire 24 women to walk the ramp draped in handloom sarees, in the first place. Then, rejecting the stuff that they thought to be handloom! Surprisingly, most of the ladies were from the interior of India, where we still find handloom and handicrafts. Yet they weren't aware of their stuff not being of handloom origin. There's always darkness below the lamp, they say. Well, nobody was to be blamed for that.
Achievements of the Handloom Show:
* At least the participants were aware of their own heritage. There was a sense of pride in the minds of the ladies, who flaunted the weaves!!
* Showing the world that we didn’t require models from Tinsel Town to make Handlooms popular.
* The story of the Kunbi weave reached not only the audience assembled there, but the video has been archived as one of the most memorable events in the history of Kalyanmayee, Western Region. It was the first and foremost Fashion show organised by the region (as well as entire India), at its Regional Headquarters in Mumbai. The Kunbi was, of course, the showstopper!
* Message of ‘handlooms being affordable’! Ladies saw my sarees in the wardrobe and were amazed to find most of the sarees costing less than Rs 3000 and yet they looked graceful in it.
* *Man maketh a saree, saree maketh the woman!!**
It was a moment of honor to have had Savitha Suri as the Chief Guest at our Fashion Show.
#Diwali_with_a_difference
Paying tribute to the Master Craftsman
When I look back today at what began only as an interest to know more about handlooms, I look to 2016. It was then that I started delving into this field. I feel I have come a long way since then; from being just another enthusiast to having a more holistic and a compassionate approach. So much has happened since then; I have met so many people in life and I have so many stories to share through this journey of four years. Yet, this story has a special place in my heart and will always remain to be...The story of the Kunbi Saree.
The ‘lockdown’ phase and the subsequent ‘unlockdown’ has imparted a certain urgency and meaning to life. Hence, during this trip to Goa, there was a strong feeling in me driving me to meet Tilve kaka. We duly reached Paliyem. The place was ever so familiar..so was his stare! Yet, his eyesight has become feeble and he can’t hear properly anymore. It was, therefore, heart warming to find that the widow of his younger brother recognised me by my name, even though I had my mask on. As I showed him the photographs of our earlier visit, he did recognise me.
A slight dementia has set in at the ripe old age of 85. Nevertheless, he sat to chat with me, narrating me his experiences as a weaver with an uncomplaining tone but with hints of regret (due to non recognition from the state as regards pension) in his voice. There was bitterness, but also resignation.
We left his abode in a pensive mood while reflecting on the highs and lows of his long career as a master craftsman.
©️Sharvari Khatavkar
