What gives khadi its khadiness? How do you convince people that a stubble on the surface of the fabric is what gives khadi its distinct identity? “Karnataka produces two major varieties of khadi — the more coarser one has more authenticity. The khadi-ness is more pronounced. We’re battling to point out to customers that in the stubs and coarseness lie its soulfulness,” says Chandrashekar.
Chandrashekar M.V and Ravikiran started a textile and design studio in 1998 called Metaphor Racha (combining their names), working on handloom and khadi fabrics and made-ups. Now they have opened up ‘Khadi by Metaphor Racha’, a studio dedicated exclusively to their khadi line that promotes Khadi made in Karnataka. “We realised we could focus on khadi alone, so we moved away from handloom to puristic khadi,’ says Chandrashekar. And then they decided why get khaki from neighbouring States when Karnataka itself makes it — they wanted the ‘make and consume local’ mantra to work.
They have been working to promote hand-spun khadi at a time when many weavers themselves are giving in to the charms of easier mechanised looms. The duo work with spinners and weavers across khadi clusters in small towns of Karnataka like Beluru, Guledgudda, Kerur, Melkote, Thagaduru, Shirahatti, Thumbinakatte, Heggodu , Hubballi, Davanagere, and in Bengaluru, so that all processes — from spinning, weaving, and post-loom processes like dyeing — are all done locally. Spinners use the New Modern Charkha (NMC), a far more modified and advanced version than the one we associate with Gandhiji! The studio designs and makes their own hand blocks and a handmade recipe of reactive dyes is used to block-print the fabrics.
“We want to instil pride among the artisans in what they are doing. The front end always hogs the limelight. We want the backend operations to come to the forefront. We want people to interact with weavers. We want weavers to tell people what kind of effort they put in, and why khadi is expensive,” says Chandrashekar, sitting in their lovely studio in the heart of old Jayanagar surrounded by very contemporary interpretations of the fabric — with indigo being predominant in the colour palette. “It is pretty popular and in huge demand,” smiles Chandrashekar. Karnataka doesn’t have proper dyeing houses, though, he points out. The next step is to work towards the use of natural dyes.
Chandrashekar describes how in each of these villages that they travel to, and khadi cooperatives they work with, artisans put in about two to three hours of work a day. “They are basically agriculturists. And the whole household is involved in making khadi; it’s an alternate economy. We are paying them more than what the cooperatives offer them; some of them get as less as Rs. 60 a day! We are enabling them to ask for their rights.” Therefore, it’s not like there aren’t enough weavers left, as the scenario is made out to be, he insists. “Most designers look at the highly skilled labour (that produce the very fine count of khadi). If designers can step out of their concern and take up initiatives to go beyond the aesthetics of it…” The government itself has plenty of new initiatives; weavers though, need to be more organized, he says. And corruption among cooperatives is a bigger battle. Outside India, there is a huge market, and a phenomenon happening for hand-spun coarse fabrics — a market that remains fairly under-tapped.
“We have adopted weaving institutions in places like Shirahatti, and a couple of organizations out of the government ambit. Otherwise khadi comes under government aegis, with the attraction being the huge subsidies offered. Our studio intervenes in terms of design and colours,” he says. Bigger cooperatives are reluctant to try out something new.
At their new studio they have on offer plain and block-printed saris, home furnishings like throws, towels, napkins, table runners, cushion covers, foot-mats. Their women’s wear range includes kurtas, salwars, palazzo pants, dresses, dupattas, stoles, skirts etc (they still don’t have a men’s line), and even stationery (handmade acid-free paper!). Prices start at Rs. 300. Saris start at Rs. 2,500. Khadi by Metaphor Racha is at # 175/1, Pavilion Street, 1st Block East, Jayanagar. The store is open only on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays (the rest of the days the duo are busy travelling to the villages!), from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Contact: 9741973604
