BHARATI PAWASKAR
Bhaiya mere rakhi ke bandhan ko nibhana… a popular song from Hindi cinema expresses the feelings that a sister may have for her brother. It’s Raksha Bandhan, a much awaited festival in India that celebrates the affectionate relation between siblings, brother and sister who ties a sacred thread around her brother’s wrist on this auspicious day. Sisters find ways of celebrating this festival that endorses the fond bond and many creative brains support this idea by coming out with innovative concepts. Ashwini Dukle, Alpna Kale and Nivedita Walke are but a few names in Goa who offer exceptional, designer rakhis year after year along with their other creative products.
Always eager to innovate something unusual every year, Ashwini Dukle’s wild imagination led her to create a flower out of the left over piece of blue denim from her old, discarded jeans. She created it just for fun and uploaded on her WhatsApp status. But minutes later, messages began pouring from her friends and acquaintances.
Recalling the entire sequence Ashwini shares, “It was during last summer vacation that I taught children to make book covers out of old denim cloth. We also made mobile pouch, money purse and some decorative items. Some of the cloth was still with me and I tried to craft a flower out of it and once done I put it as my status on mobile. The response was too good. People began asking if such flowers were for sale. Of course I didn’t intend to sell them. But it provoked a thought. Why not? As the number of enthusiasts began to grow, I decided to give it a try and created four dozen rakhis from blue denim and they were all gone as soon as I posted it on my Facebook page,” shares Ashwini whose four dozen rakhis that she created were sold out immediately as she kept her pricing very low “ Rs 20-25 per piece.
There’s always demand for something different and people do not mind paying a price for an ‘out-of-the-box’ idea. With a supportive team of her own, Alpna Kale from Panaji offers handmade gifts under her brand, ‘Feelings Hat Ke’ which she runs for the past five years. She began with a Facebook page of her own and posted some of her creations. And bingo! She got a positive feedback. Alpna started making rakhis three years ago “ first with felt cloth, then with resham thread (raw silk) and this year she experimented with brass. “I never repeat my concept. Every year I try something new and extraordinary, ‘hat ke’. The brass rakhis are personalized, with individual photos inserted in them. These are reusable as keychains or pendants or wall hangings,” informs Alpna who prints the photos sent by her clients to incorporate them while designing the rakhis and tag them with a price of Rs 250 each.
Another entrepreneur who is leading a team of women to cater to interior designing and installations on ceilings and walls with intricate crochet work is Nivedita Walke, an architect turned crochet artist who heads her eco-friendly brand ‘Thread Architecture’ that began with making a small five cm crochet rakhi in 2017. Nivedita, whose crochet rakhis can be reused as bookmarks, has already dispatched this year’s orders across India. The kids’ specialized rakhis are priced between Rs 100 -200 each while the adults’ ones begin at Rs 20 each. She may have started small, but Nivedita aims at bigger targets. For her it is a social initiative, not only a business. She does this to bring awareness that if we do not value the crochet artisans and pay them as skilled crafts persons, this beautiful art and craft which was once so common in Goa will be lost forever. She hopes to keep it alive. “I want to present crochet in an exciting form which today’s plasticized generation would relate to. Let’s celebrate with crochet rakhis this Independence day!” exclaims this artist, businesswoman and a social worker.
