PRODUCTION TIME: INTO THE INTERIORS OF ASSAM

The day I reached Guwahati.. my anxiety grew doublefold because the weaver community was protesting against the trader community which were dealing with duplicate fabrics so nobody was ready to give fabric to outsiders as a part of their protest! I got worried because a curfew was declared for three days. So I went into the villages in the interiors that I had visited before and started a thread of communication to the weavers I was aquainted with. It was very overwhelming and a huge relief when they agreed to give me fabric because they believed in me and liked my work. There was no language barrier here as we could easily understand each other through creative language. They enthusiastically took me to a place where fifty-odd ladies from the surrounding homes were working together at the backyard of a house. It was amazing to see so many ladies working together while laughing and joking about domestic issues.. a place where no man is allowed! The ambience was a beautiful cacaophony of the sound of the looms, the laughter and the animated conversation.  I stayed with them and spent amazing two days at their place. 

 

The day I was returning from Guwahati I was carrying the fabric I required for production to complete my orders and memories of people who were very simple, genuine and friendly.