FROM A DISTANT LAND
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| Villages of District Purulia is primarily forested all around. Thes Forests are lush Green and full of herbal plants that may be the reason most of the Tribals took care of themselves with no hospitals for miles in these villages. Forest is full of Wild Elephants besides other small animals. Indha happened in the community because of Mother Lode “Literacy India”. It set up shop with a centre opening in Village Lowakui, Block Baghmundi, District Purulia, right in the middle of the Forest. Those days Mao activities were in full scale with every now and then acute problems with the Govt. However Literacy India centre worked peacefully without any hitch. Work spread from Lowakui village to Raghunathpur. Village houses in Raghunathpur are painted beautifully, it made us wonder about their latent talent of the Village folks. Women would sing in their homes while doing house chore, they would dance in bright colour sarees during festivals. Indha explored with their skill with embroidery and Stitching. |
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They were trained, and what we found that they were natural, their needlework with little training blossomed which the world had to see. Women would do their household chores, then get their children from nearby govt school where Literacy India is already running its educational program, they would sit down with their needle and thread. Technology played a significant part, we would design a basic sketch in Gurgaon, then email it to Literacy India coordinator in Purulia, the description would reach the Raghunathpur centre and Voila ! the vivid, colourful needlework would be the product of the day. This became a natural pattern for us, and the number of women multiplied started working on a variety of embroidery. These Designs, in turn, become a part of many Table Runners, Cushion Covers, Bags, etc., we created a market with these designs and these talented hands. This Tribal Woman could be heard singing happily while going back home with the money at her remote village sent to her from all the way from Posh Gurgaon. Most of these Tribal Women have never gone beyond a few communities in her life while the work travelled the world. We feel proud of taking their work to Everyone. |
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Captain Indraani Singh,
Founder – Indha & AirIndia Commander