Senco Gold & Diamonds collaborated with textile designer and weaver Manas Ghorai to present Padaboli — A Story of Jamdani O Alonkar, in association with The Telegraph, at Gallery Gold (11 Abdul Rasul Avenue), on August 30. An exhibition of jewellery and traditional saris of Bengal, it showcased the rich tradition of Bengal’s art, craftsmanship, history and its revival.
Wearable works of art, Manas Ghorai’s Bengal handloom saris revived centuries-old, forgotten weaving techniques with which he blended contemporary designs and motifs. In this show, the designs on the saris were translated into inspirations for a line of handcrafted silver jewellery by Senco Gold & Diamonds’ in-house brand Gossip, a range of fashion and silver lifestyle jewellery. This collaborative project took two years to take shape.
“In this collection of jamdani saris, I have tried to revive the traditional, indegenous designs found in everyday articles used by our ancestors over centuries. The idea has not only enabled the recovery of a lost and forgotten heritage, but it has added a new dimension to traditional sari motifs as well,” said Manas Ghorai.
Joita Sen, director of Senco Gold & Diamonds, delivered the welcome address at the launch. This was followed by a narration of the story of ‘Jamdani O Alonkar’ by Manas Ghorai. Snapshots.
Angurlata pattern of British times has been revived by weavers in this handspun cotton by mulberry silk sari with muslin effect (Rs 4,200). The design of the sari border has inspired these danglers in silver finish, with a floral motif in the middle (Rs 1,300).
The jamdani sari’s pattern is a revival of designs found in traditional floor-mats (madur) of Bengal which have peacock motif (Rs 19,500). This design has inspired a vertical chain pendant (Rs 3,600) with matching earrings (Rs 1,790) in contemporary style but with geometrical peacock motifs.
Traditional designs found in Kashmiri shawls have been given a contemporary twist by weavers of this natural indigo and Alizarin red-dyed jamdani sari (Rs 16,500). The sari’s geometrical border has inspired the design of this handcuff with a layering effect (Rs 2,400) and matching danglers (Rs 1,500).
The ‘tree of life’ motif of the needle-woven jamdani sari on handspun cotton with silk (Rs 17,800) has inspired the designs of two beautiful pieces of jewellery — a pendant-type necklace with floral and bird motif (Rs 5,600) and a ‘tree of life’ pendant (Rs 3,300).
The traditional floral border of this Bengal jamdani sari in mulberry silk with natural indigo dye (Rs 38,000) has inspired this necklace with geometric floral pattern (Rs 5,400).
(L-R) Soumyojit Das, Joita Sen, Sourendro Mullick, Suvankar Sen (MD and CEO of Senco Gold & Diamonds) and Manas Ghorai, at the launch. “This project was conceived to provide support to our artisans and craftspersons to help them revive and recreate traditional forms of art and design. Their efforts gave birth to this new collection of revived and restored fashion, which is customised, different and definitely more affordable for our buyers,” said Joita Sen, director, Senco Gold & Diamonds.
“The jamdani saris are very finely designed. They are exclusive pieces. Some ornaments recall the old Bombay style, while some resemble South Indian designs,” said artist Samir Roy, who was present at the inauguration.
Pinky Kenworthy
(Left to right) Darshan Shah, Nil, Narayan Sinha