The Toda threads and jamakalam revowen showcase by FICCI FLO
| Photo Credit: R Ravindran
India’s rich array of crafts and the artisans behind it all have countless stories to weave.
Take P Sakthivel from Bhavani near Erode, for instance. He is the third generation from his family to be engaged in the art of weaving jamalakkalams but today, the circumstances of his business have changed, he says. “Powerlooms have taken over and there are fewer people now who are making jamakkalams the traditional way,” he says.
Anuradha Halan, who has been working with Toda artisans from the Nilgiris, has much to say about about watching the pioneering work of her mentor Evam Piljen Wiedemann, and how she popularised the Toda embroidery.
Vharsha Raheja, Arti Bagdy and Nabila Avais
| Photo Credit:
R Ravindran
In a bid to honour these crafts, as well as work on a contemporary revival of their artistry through design interventions, the handloom and textile vertical of the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), has been working for over a year now with two projects focussed on Toda embroidery and jamakkalams. The initiative aims to take it to a larger audience.
Cushion covers and potli bags with Toda embroidery
| Photo Credit:
R Ravindran
“We began these projects, Toda Threads and Jamakkalam Rewoven, by understanding what the challenges faced by the communities working on creating the textiles were,” says Arti Bagdy, head of the textile and handloom vertical of FICCI FLO. Arti and committee members Vharsha Raheja and Nabila Avais, have been working on empowering these artisans through design interventions to suit evolving contemporary tastes and styles.
“While Toda embroidery is featured predominantly on shawls, we have created an entire range of home furnishings with their distinct red and black embroidery on white. This includes cushion covers, table runners and coasters,” Arti says. The large jamakkalam, a traditional hand-woven carpet often in dark red, green and blue has taken shape as smaller, more contemporary rugs that can be used in homes as opposed to larger spaces. The distinct jamakkalam stripes also feature on cushion covers and coasters as a part of this capsule collection.
“The Toda community is extremely small and among them, less than 350 women in the Nilgiris work on this unique embroidery. Despite the craft having a GI certification, we are seeing outsiders trying to replicate this without engaging with the Toda artisans,” Anuradha says. The Toda Threads project however, she says, has engaged directly with the women artisans who are extremely enthused by the response to these design interventions, she adds.
Cushion covers and jamakkalam rugs
| Photo Credit:
R Ravindran
Sakthivel, who has been working on the jamakkalam project agrees that the newer designs and colours seem to have international appeal. “People have always loved the old-school jamakkalam patterns so it is no surprise that they want a version of this in their homes today,” he says.
As part of the Toda Threads initiative, FICCI FLO also collaborated with designer Tarun Tahiliani, to showcase the versatility of Toda embroidery in contemporary fashion last July.
Divya Abhishek, chairperson of FLO Chennai describes this initiative as the perfect blend of tradition, innovation, and empowerment. “With a dedicated team and the artistry of our craftspeople, we are showcasing Tamil Nadu’s textile heritage to the world in a way that is both meaningful and relevant,” she says.
Arti says that it is important to underscore the significance of these crafts, and for the global community to embrace the rich legacy of textile heritage this contributes to. “While these designs have been showcased at our meets and have found favour among our members across the country, we have bigger plans as well. We hope to set up dedicated channels to take these directly to the customers — through a website as well as in stores,” she says.
Published – March 25, 2025 05:33 pm IST
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