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The unique sight of hundreds of women draped in brightly coloured ethnic wear made heads turn as tourists and locals witnessed in awe with some joining the merry troupe as the woman marched in the streets of London.
London (UK): Draped in colourful sarees from different Indian states, hundreds of Indian-origin women marched through the streets of London as they celebrated the National Handloom Day on Sunday. The Saree Walkathon coordinated by the British Women in Sarees group began their colourful march at Trafalgar Square and concluded at the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Parliament Square after some singing-dancing stops along the way on Whitehall near Downing Street.
Slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Vande Mataram” reverberated in the UK capital as the women, representing the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi, among others, chanted patriotic slogans along the kilometre-long route and ended their walkathon with the National Anthem.
And then to Parliament Square. A British women in Saree walkathon and celebration. Truly spectacular with 100s of colourfully dressed ladies in attendance. pic.twitter.com/OqyL906Bre
— Chris Hobbs (@obbsie) August 6, 2023
“As ambassadors of this movement, we feel grateful that we have gained immense success with our early efforts in bringing the limelight for the artists and weavers and putting their wearable art on a pedestal where everyone is curious to know more about them,” said Dr Hema Santhosh, one of the coordinators for Kerala told news agency PTI.
“But we intend to achieve more. We intend to identify handloom clusters in India, in need of help and lend them our support. We intend to raise awareness among all about our handlooms, their history and the art behind it. This peaceful Saree Walkathon of ours is another initiative to make this possible,” she said.
The unique sight of hundreds of women draped in brightly coloured ethnic wear made heads turn as tourists and locals witnessed in awe with some joining the merry troupe as the woman marched in the streets of London while grooving to some catchy Bollywood tunes.
To celebrate India’s 🇮🇳 #NationalHandloom Day on 7 August, around 600 Indian-origin women gathered at central London today as part of the Saree Walkathon.
They walked from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square in sarees. Also performed across @10DowningStreet where they broke… pic.twitter.com/YcB3MXSaX7— Rupanjana | রূপাঞ্জনা (@RupanjanaDutta) August 6, 2023
“The British Women in Sarees is a group of empowered women who take pride in flaunting handloom sarees and representing the unique cultural melting pot that is India. It is a not-for-profit organisation which likes to organise events to promote our national heritage and make everyone around the world aware of the toil, handwork and artistry which goes behind weaving each of these masterpieces,” Dr Dipti Jain told PTI.
National Handloom Day
National Handloom Day is marked annually on August 7 as a tribute to the handloom-weaving community of India and highlights the contribution of this sector to the socio-economic development of the country.
The date connects with the independence struggle when Mahatma Gandhi launched the Swadeshi Movement in 1905 to encourage indigenous industries and in particular handloom weavers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the celebrations at Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam on Monday. The celebrations will be held at 12 noon on August 7, PM Modi said on Twitter.
At 12 noon tomorrow, 7th August, I will join the National Handloom Day celebrations at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. This is an occasion to reiterate our commitment towards popularising local textiles and handlooms in the spirit of being ‘Vocal For Local.’ https://t.co/z6w3Ex5tAV
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2023
“At 12 noon tomorrow, 7th August, I will join the National Handloom Day celebrations at the Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. This is an occasion to reiterate our commitment towards popularising local textiles and handlooms in the spirit of being ‘Vocal For Local.’”, PM shared in a tweet.
VIDEO | “On August 7, India will celebrate National Handloom Day dedicated to the Swadeshi movement. The day stands for every Indian as a reminder of ‘Vocal for Local’. A few days later, on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, we should opt for eco-friendly celebrations,” says PM… pic.twitter.com/yJaHxxXYxb
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 6, 2023
According to a release, this year, the 9th National Handloom Day is being celebrated.
“During the programme, Prime Minister will also launch an e-portal, a Repository of Textiles & Crafts that has been developed by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)”, it said.
The release further mentioned that the programme will be attended by over 3000 handloom and khadi weavers, artisans and stakeholders from the textile & MSME sectors.
It will bring together handloom clusters across India, NIFT campuses, Weaver Service Centres, Indian Institute of Handloom Technology campuses, National Handloom Development Corporation, Handloom Export Promotion Council, KVIC institutions and various State Handloom Departments, it added.
(With inputs from agencies)
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