For decades the world has bowed down to mechanisation and westernisation across industries; textiles and fashion are not untouched. Manisha Gawade along with her late sister Dr. Alka Raghuvanshi ignited a revolution to provide a non-profit platform to handloom weavers of India way back in 2012 through Ehsaas – ‘Threads of India’. In its 7th edition exhibition of works of 239 weavers from across India will be showcased live on their Facebook profile from September 17th to 24th, 2023, 7.30pm onwards to about 12,000 viewers.

The platform links are shared as follows:

Facebook Manisha Gawade : https://www.facebook.com/manisha.gawade.927?mibextid=LQQJ4d;

Facebook Manisha Gawade Art : https://www.facebook.com/Manisha.gawade.art?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Facebook Alka Raghuvanshi : https://www.facebook.com/alka.raghuvanshi?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Ehsaas ensures that their handwoven textiles are not lost in the sands of time but the tradition is carried forward by our future generations which have been with us for centuries. It has always been their endeavour to bring weavers and artists to the forefront to reiterate the make-in-India concept and generate employment for them. Ehsaas provides a wonderful space for the lovers of the handloom by promoting genuine fabric and celebrating intricately woven patterns of artistic brilliance. Manisha and Alka, with their rich experience of both being curators, artists, journalists, and designers knew they had to make this important move to support the weavers.

Today, Manisha Gawade feels privileged to carry forward this legacy after the demise of her sister Dr. Alka Raghuvanshi in 2021.

In the upcoming exhibition Ehsaas celebrates India’s 239 master weavers from all over India and the nine avatars of Maa Durga represented by the women of substance of modern India. These women have been the epitome of classical Indian dances and music are the ideal icons of Indian culture. Having curated the show every year, Manisha Gawade shares her views as, “This year’s special focus is the revival of the ParsiGara, which used to be popularly worn by the women of the Parsi community, especially during weddings and slowly became popular in other parts of India too. But with the decline in the birth rates of the Parsi community as well the decrease in demand the karigars of this craft have been pushed to the brink. There are only 55 original ParsiGara surviving karigars, whose children are not keen to carry forward this dying art. It is hence that Ehsaas has decided to bring this close-to-extinction craft to the centre stage to save this valuable cultural heritage.”

Ehsaas expresses its gratitude to the great living legends of Indian Arts who have supported this cause unconditionally. Some of these living legends have defined the cultural Mel hue of India for more than half a century. These celebrity Cultural Ambassadors of art and culture have stood by this noble cause of supporting the weavers at the Ehsaas platform 2023 by narrating the history and journey of the various weaves. Guru Shovana Narayan, Padma Shri Awardee, Kathak Guru Author, narrates the history of the Banarasi weave. Guru Ranjana Gauhar, Padma Shri Awardee, Odissi Guru and author narrating the history of the Orissa Weave. Guru Kaushalya Reddy, Kuchipudi Guru & Exponent discussing the historical overview of the Gadwal Weave. Guru Sharon Lowen, Odissi Guru, Exponent and Author, shares the journey of the Assam weave with the viewers. Smt. Sadhna Shrivastava, a celebrated Television Personality, shares the historical relevance of the Gharchola and the Kanjivaram Weave. Smt. Radhika Chopra, Queen of Ghazals, throws light on the Patan Patola Weave. Smt. Rashmi Vaidialingam, Kuchipudi Exponent, talks about the Pochampally Weave from the Telangana region. Smt. Meeta Pandit, the renowned Hindustani Vocalist of the Gwalior gharana, talks about the journey of the Paithani Weave. Manisha Gawade The Director of Ehsaas and an internationally acclaimed artist, Curator and designer shares her creatively designed range of block printed range on handloom Kanjivaram silks. This has been done in the form of short videos which will be shared with the audience in facebook and a combined video will soon be released on YouTube as well.