Nestled in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, is the
town of Pranpur. Together with it’s better-known neighbour, the town of
Chanderi, it resounds with the strangely
musical clackety—clak of looms that weave gorgeous Chanderi sarees. A region
that peaked in influence between the 12th-16th
centuries as a strategic trade and military outpost, as well as an important
center for Jainism, today Chanderi has been bypassed by other tourist
destinations in Madhya Pradesh.
However those curious about the indigenous weaves and craft
forms of this region do make the arduous journey over terrible roads, as my
entire team from work did last week. We picked up the so-called superfast Jabalpur
express from New Delhi in the afternoon and had a lovely few hours playing
games, giggling and generally making a nuisance of ourselves in the
compartment. I haven’t had so much fun on a train journey since I left college!
Almost 6 hours later, we reached a tiny station called Lalitpur in Uttar
Pradesh. From Lalitpur, we jolted along over horrible roads in pitch-darkness
for 15 km, until we crossed the border into Madhya Pradesh where the roads were
well-paved and smooth! 20 more km later during which I dozed off, we reached
our destination, a quaint retreat in Pranpur. We could do nothing more than
fall exhausted into our beds that night.
We were up at 7 the next day (my roommate later confessed
she could not sleep during the night because it was so quiet!) and began
exploring our home for the next couple of days. The rooms were pretty basic but
clean. Mine had pretty latticed windows and Chanderi curtains. There was a
small reception area, a restaurant, a 'conference room' and lots and lots of
mango trees! We started work at 10 am since we had a full agenda – budgets,
dashboards, goals, targets had all to be discussed threadbare and argued over!
Lunch-time introduced me to some simple and tasty Bundelkhandi food.
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| The guest house |
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| Bundellkhandi platter |
After lunch, we toodled off to our first stop of the pm. The
Bunkar Samiti or Weaver’s Cooperative at Pranpur saw 8 females walking in,
cameras and notepads at the ready. What a visual feast it was! Imagine 8 women
let loose in a roomful of exquisite sarees and you can imagine the pandemonium :)
Sarees were touched, oohed and aahed over, draped and bought. We heard from the
weavers about the hard times they had been through, why the cooperative was
formed and what benefits it had for the weavers and how Aamir Khan and Kareena
Kapoor had visited them a few years ago. The latter was a recurring theme in
all our conversations in Pranpur and Chanderi. The Kareena Palla was a much cherished design and
source of pride for the locals and left us wondering at the power of celebrity
endorsements! Maybe more Bollywood stars should promote craft in India!
We then visited another cooperative nestled inside a
heritage building near the Chanderi Fort, where we got to learn some technicalities
of the loom and spoke to more weavers. Visiting the weaver’s homes in Chanderi
was a wonderful experience. We had a guide who led us in pitch darkness through
narrow alleys to the homes of potters and weavers. We sidestepped cow and goat
dung, and stumbled over uneven dirt tracks to reach our destination. Every home has
atleast one loom of not two, purchased or rented at usurious rates. Very few
homes were pucca. Most were just one room shacks with a coal or wood chulha and
a thatched roof. Electricity is intermittent and night-time weaving is done
without the aid of cooling and with kerosene lanterns. Most kids go to school
but are at work on the looms during their free time. Yet we were always invited
inside for a meal or hot tea. People invited us home unreservedly to look at
their work, take photos and chat. They shared their stories with no reserve and
no bitterness.
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| Chanderi - the street lined with wevare's homes on both sides |
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| A weaver's home - one of the few prosperous-looking ones |
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| At the loom |
The spunkiest person we met was this 90 year old woman whose
husband and son were both State-level master weavers and awardees. Her husband
was a few years older and hard of hearing. She dragged us inside her house,
made us all sit down. When we asked her whether she could also weave as well as
her husband, she scornfully said “Haan main bhi bunti hoon. Sara kaam to maine
hi kiya hai!” She was confident and secure, making me wonder about my preconceived
notions of empowerment. If this old poor woman sitting in a dark hut in
interior MP was not empowered, who was??
The other interesting observation was that absolutely not
one of these women weavers wore a Chanderi saree, instead opting for synthetic
sarees. When we asked why, they shrugged. The sarees are too expensive, we can’t
afford them. Isn’t that the ultimate irony, that the artisan who produces
something so exquisite does not get to experience it for himself? They had a
dispassionate approach to their work typified by their response to what I now
feel were our typically urban, upper-middle class questions. Do you like what you do, we asked? Again, that
shrug. It’s a job. It’s what we do. They feel pride in their craft, but ultimately
it’s a question of economics and feeding your family.
Our spunky friend had a telling response when we asked her
why she did not have any of the sarees she had woven. Can I take anything with
me when I pass away, she retorted with a toothy smile. I think all of us can do
with a dose of that pragmatism! This is what my husband calls the Zooming Out
approach to life!
We met many more weavers over the next day and a half and
had many more conversations. As we headed back to Jhansi to catch our train to
Delhi, all of us were silent reflecting on the eventful days gone by. Until we
were literally jolted back to reality by one of the Boleros breaking down and
all 9 of us with our luggage having to squeeze into the other one!! By the time
we reached Jhansi, we were hot, thirsty and I had painful knees from having had
a colleague perched on me during the ride. It was good to get back to some
creature comforts! So much for living the simple rustic life :)
