New Delhi, July 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted how traditional Indian craftsmanship can drive economic growth through innovation and global partnerships.
In an X post, the Office of the Prime Minister of India referred to an article written by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, underscoring how the Centre’s ‘One District, One Product’ initiative is helping local crafts gain market access, create sustainable livelihoods, preserve heritage and strengthen India’s global competitiveness.
FM Sitharaman states that ‘Vastrakala’ in Chennai shows how collaboration with countries like France can help connect Indian artisans to global markets.
She pointed out that during a recent investors’ meeting she attended in Paris, the Indian ambassador to France mentioned ‘Vastrakala’ — an Indo-French partnership that married French haute couture with India’s centuries-old embroidery traditions.
After returning to India, the Finance Minister travelled to Vastrakala’s workshop in Gudapakkam, Tiruvallur district near Chennai.
The Finance Minister said that during lunch with the team of artisans, she learned that Vastrakala had deliberately moved from their first workshop in Chennai to Gudapakkam to bring high-value work closer to the villages where these skills had been nurtured for generations. The clock seemed to have turned back. While one is aware of the common pattern of young men and women migrating to cities, this was the case of a company moving out of the city to settle in a village!
The Finance Minister explained that Vastrakala is situated in the drought-prone Kanchipuram-Sriperumbudur-Tiruvallur belt. “In the days of yore, when rains failed, agricultural work paused. When the ploughs took rest, farmers turned to needles, creating beautiful patterns on cottons and silks. Harnessing the reservoir of creativity inside them, villagers were able to tide over the hardships of drought. This art demanded extraordinary patience, precision, and discipline — a trait that dry-land farmers possess in abundance,” she said.
“As India opened up and Chennai attracted investments, these dry lands gave way to highways and industrial units. Several villagers sold off their lands and found employment in these factories or migrated to Chennai. With the family silver sold and liquid cash evaporating, needlework also receded from many homes; fingers that had once shaped delicate leaves and flowers in thread began assembling industrial components,” the FM said in the article. (IANS)
