Caught by cotton – the thread that binds Team VS

Of yarn and yearning 

– Pallavi Srivastava  

You can call me old-fashioned. Much before handloom became a cool word to flaunt at gymkhanas, before fashion designers recognised weavers, when Bollywood heroines danced in the rain in chiffon saris and satin dresses with pinned flowers (made of satin, what else) were bought for special occasions, that’s when I remember falling in love with crisp – and wrinkled – cottons. 

Over the years this love affair has become a mild obsession – with handwoven, handprinted, embroidered and embellished (by hand, of course) cottons and silks. Like with most girls, it was an influence etched in my mind by the two women closest to me – my paternal grandmother and my mother. Actually, maybe my grandfather and father too. 

My sons watched mesmerised as the weavers worked magic on the pit looms during our visit to Pochampally village in Telangana. 

Or, wait, perhaps it was Mother Teresa. My grandmother always reminded me of the Nobel laureate. Maybe the connection was forged in my childhood brain because they were the two women I always saw wearing white cotton saris, or in my grandmother’s case, any of the 400 shades of white in the Pantone colour match card. 

And mom? She was a lecturer and mostly wore handlooms too. But unlike my Gandhian grandparents who shopped at Khadi Bhandar, mom cherished the handwoven saris my father, a central government officer, bought during his frequent visits to remote villages. It was he who first familarised us with warp and weft and showed how to distinguish a weave from a print – check the fabric on its reverse. 

Dhakai, Chanderi, Maheshwari, kasavu fabrics were the terms we grew up with. The tiny dots on Bomkai of Odisha, the small checks on Puneri cotton, the mythological figures on baluchari  and the temple borders on Coimbatore cotton… Paisley, petals, peacock motifs… my mother’s wardrobe had them all. And more.

Nearly two decades since she passed away, mom’s cotton saris continue to drape me in comfort. The collection has become larger, thanks to a shared interest in handlooms with my spouse. On every family trip across India, our must-purchase product is the local fabric. My sons watched mesmerised as the weavers worked magic on the pit looms during our visit to Pochampally village in Telangana. 

Actually, if you ever come across a family of four wearing ikat fabric, it may just be us.

Pallavi Srivastava is Associate Director, Content, at Village Square.

Also Read: Punjab’s daughters revive its cotton weaving tradition

Call of comfort with cotton

– Prachi Sharma

I come from a family where handloom weaving is practised as a heritage family business. I grew up playing with cotton balls, before they were transformed into threads to make mekhela-chadar for customers.

Cotton has been one of the fabrics that I have loved the most. In fact, I have barely worn any other fabric in my life. It helps me breathe and roam freely. During classical dance lessons, we were always advised to wear cotton salwar suits or practice sarees, since they allow one to move freely and feel comfortable even after getting soaked in sweat during rehearsals. 

On this Cotton Day, I would like to urge people to wear something beautiful (for me, it’s synonymous with cotton) as a usual practice. Let’s all style ourselves in cotton clothes with different patterns and motifs and feel gorgeous.

Now I know so many big city dwellers who don’t want to wear cotton outfits to parties, weddings or other celebrations, maybe because they think it looks low-key. But coming from Tezpur, a small town in Assam, I have seen my mother and aunts wearing cotton fabrics at home as well as during special occasions. It was only when I landed in Delhi that I was exposed to a variety of fabrics available in the market. 

On this Cotton Day, I would like to urge people to wear something beautiful (for me, it’s synonymous with cotton) as a usual practice. Let’s all style ourselves in cotton fabrics with different patterns and motifs and feel gorgeous.

Prachi Sharma is the Officer – Youth Hub at Village Square.

Also Read: Weaving a tapestry on traditional looms

Cotton fabrics: A rural inspiration

– Sanjana Kaushik 

It was 2016 when I experienced my first stay at a village. It was at Uljhawan village in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh (MP). I was a 20-year-old fresh-out-of-college greenhorn when I decided to work in the social sector. The dream of living in villages was however born in my childhood.

Growing up watching Bollywood films, I always thought that chaniya-choli was the usual outfit for rural women. But reality hit almost immediately and kurta-salwar sets came to occupy the major part of my wardrobe.

I realised how inaccessible these cotton fabrics are for urban folks like me and how much goes into the making of each metre of fabric.

Clothing plays a vital role in building relationships in communities and while working in humid interior regions, I found comfort in the cotton fabrics. I started wearing cotton kurtas and trousers regularly, and often chose to wear sarees to look ‘mature’ in front of village men while conducting training sessions or workshops.

MP gave me enough access to areas like Bagh, Maheshwar and Chanderi where I learnt the relevance of handlooms in a more detailed way. I also got hands-on experience while working closely with the cotton farmers in Barwani in the state and watching their struggles in the fields. That was when I realised how inaccessible these fabrics are for urban folks like me and how much goes into the making of each metre of fabric. The transformation within me was immense – I have valued handlooms since then.

It’s been eight years since I began shopping for cotton fabrics during my visits to various parts of India, including Odisha, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Kerala. I try to source them from the weavers as much as possible. I haven’t bought a denim outfit for a very long time.

Thrift culture is also something I have warmed up to, exchanging my clothes with friends and family members. I treasure sarees from my grandmother and my mother. After I got married, I have also started wearing those from my mother-in-law. They have found a special place not only in my wardrobe but also on my social media feeds. Have you seen them yet?

Sanjana Kaushik is the Manager – Youth Hub at Village Square.

Also Read: Farmers go green by growing organic cotton

Feels like grandma’s hug

-Teesta Rajan

I’ve loved cotton sarees since I was a little girl and imagined myself in one. I saw my great grandmother and grandmother wear them daily, not just for special occasions. To me, sarees meant comfort, airflow and easy movement. All the cotton sarees I have now belong to my grandmother. I claimed them as mine before my mom and aunt could, because my Nani’s saree feels like home. It represents my culture and childhood.

A cotton saree makes me feel safe and cozy, like a hug from my grandmother.

A cotton saree makes me feel safe and cozy, like a hug from my grandmother. It empowers me and makes me feel capable. Nowadays, there are many brands trying to recreate that feeling of a hand-me-down cotton saree, but honestly, nothing beats the comfort of one previously worn by someone you love.

Teesta Rajan is the Associate Director of Village Vibe at Village Square. She is passionate about food, travel and culture.

Also Read: Bengal’s weavers revive muslin, spin success

The lead image at the top shows (from left) Sanjana Kaushik, Pallavi Srivastava and Prachi Sharma (Photo by Novita Singh).