“My love for textiles dates back to when I was only eight years old and visited my father’s tiny store that used to be a matching centre and also sold saris,” says Gaurang Shah. His story is not one of luck or overnight success, but of hard work and patience.
Back in 2001, when traditional handlooms were fading into oblivion due to declining patronage and an onslaught of embroidered saris like georgettes and chiffons, weaver communities were mired in debt, uncertainty and hunger deaths. It was then that Gaurang took up the challenge of reviving the traditional handlooms and bringing them back in vogue, a task which took him nearly two painstaking years.
“After I finished my education, I knew that I had to do something in the field of textiles. My father already owned a shop and it was quite popular, but I wanted to make it more than just a matching centre. So, I started researching about various textiles, weaves and handicraft work, and travelled the length and breadth of the country to gain knowledge about as many weaves as possible,” says Gaurang, who elaborates on jamdani, a kind of weaving technique that caught his attention.
