Recently, the Weavers’ Service Centre, Nagpur, under the Office of the Development Commissioner for Handlooms, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, officially launched the coffee table book, `Threaded Tales of Vidarbha.’ The publication documents the distinctive handloom traditions and motifs of the Vidarbha region, with a focus on preserving its textile legacy. The initiative is a collaborative effort between the Weavers’ Service Centre and designer Shruti Sancheti. Sancheti has played a key role in conceptualising and curating the visual and cultural documentation. The book also features original research, photographs, and testimonies from local weavers who have kept the traditions of Vidarbha alive for generations. “Preserving these timeless craft traditions through this book is our way of fostering a deeper appreciation for the artistry and stories woven into every thread,” says designer Shruti Sancheti.
The book features textiles known for their understated elegance, including tussar silk and fine cotton sarees, with design elements rooted in local customs. Experienced weavers such as Prahlad Katwe and Rajesh Lade share personal insights into their craft, underscoring the emotional and cultural depth of the region’s weaving practices. “This book is a valuable effort to document and showcase the beauty of Vidarbha’s handwoven textiles, intricate designs, and traditional motifs to a wider audience,” says Nitin Gadkari, minister of road transport and highways, Government of India. According to Dr. M. Beena, IAS, development commissioner (handlooms), the publication of this book is “a visual and cultural tribute to the extraordinary textile traditions of the Vidarbha region,” she says.
It took Sacheti 40 days to put this book together. Sancheti was in contact with Dr. Beena, development commissioner (handlooms), during one of her projects and “I was just telling her these tales and she said why don’t you just put it all across?” says Sancheti. “Luckily I had everything documented from my previous visits to the weavers, so it barely took me 10-15 days to put together,” she adds. Sancheti has tried to capture the essence of Vidharbha in the coffee table book, so much so that the photo shoot was done in Nagpur on local girls from Vidharbha. “People like to see pictures in a coffee table book, rather than just going through it. I have explained all the weaves but kept it absolutely to the bare minimum to what they signify. We have kept the content short, more relatable, where people understand why a motif is called muniya or naryali. Yet, getting photographs for the book was a difficult task. The weavers have not really archived them,” she says.
Vidharbha is the heart of India, the Zero Mile. Being the center of the state of Maharashtra, with neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, the region has a conflicting culture. Though it is a very Marathi region, some elements are borrowed from the neighbouring states, which gives the region of Vidharbha its diverse culture and way of living. Yet when one thinks of Maharashtra, the Paithani weave is what comes to mind.
Ever since Sancheti started her design career with Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) in 2010, it was but natural for her to work with Vidharbha. “Maybe I took the easy route, but this shortcut lead to the discovery of some unknown weaves which I would not have otherwise known. Working with these clusters, we got to know the tales they had. It is the tales and the significance of each motive that interested me,” says Sancheti. “For instance, take the Raghavi weave. “According to the weaver this is from the Ramayana. Then there is a weave called Narli. This is self-explanatory. This is special as in Indian tradition we break the coconut, and on these occasions they would wear Narli. In the cotton season they would start weaving Ruiphool saris because they were harvesting cotton at that time. So all these tales were so interesting that I started collecting few of them to understand,” she adds.
Having created a few collections around these weaves during her earlier LFW days, Sancheti later worked with some of the clusters for their design intervention, helping them to make them more contemporary and help them with their marketing. “We do a lot of weaving with Vidharbh traditions such as Nagpur checks and I am trying to make it more relatable for the global market,” she says.
While Threaded Tales of Vidharbha is the first documentation of the weaving traditions of the past 300 years in the Vidharbha region, Sancheti has tried to put it all in 108 pages. “This region has a lot of potential and it is time that people started looking towards it. I am for sure devoting my time for this. I think if every designer intervenes with whichever region they belong to, they can do so much. India has such an unsurpassed legacy of weaves and textiles and craft I thing as a designer you can never run out of inspiration,” she says.
The Threaded Tales of Vidarbha coffee table book will be made available through official handloom channels and is expected to serve as a reference for designers, researchers, policymakers, and craft enthusiasts.