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Kutch on the world map, thanks to the Internet.When Mancha ben’s dazzling wares were
displayed on a Website, they were grabbed by UK-based Tie Store and now adorn the
latter’s windows in European capitals.
The Government of Gujarat and the hundreds of Non-Government Organizations
(
NGOs) operating in the state, need to get together to promote Websites that provide
exhibition platforms to Gujarati textiles and crafts.
I especially recommend that a Website be set up which is dedicated to Gujarat’s
historic
Patola
.
Today, handmade
Patola
sarees command thousands or lakhs of rupees and form a
part of Gujarat’s heritage. Sadly, the
Patola
is a dying tradition, and “e-
patola
”
will
probably prove to be the elixir that will revive and recall the glories of this lost art.
My other suggestion is that the power-loom sector be IT-enabled. While power-
looms churn out reams of high quality cloth, we seem to be running out of designs.
New designs, in line with the requirements of national global buyers, can be provided
to weavers, through community centers across Gujarat that offer Internet access.
As a next step,
the Gujarati textile industry—particularly the power-loom,
handloom and khadi segments—could be integrated into the global e-marketplac
e.
E-links with national and international level buyers, houses of
couture
,
and mass
market apparel makers would enable Gujarati textile suppliers to join the global supply
chain and vend their goods in bustling e-bazaars.
It is time then to e-nable Gujarat’s timeless traditions. Gujarat was once part of
the famous silk route—where caravans stopped by to pick up colourful cottons and
shimmering silks before moving eastward to other oriental destinations. The State
has to once again pick up the threads, and e-textiles is the way to the world’s
textile markets.
n
