Mata ni Pachedi Highlights Artisan Awareness Week at NIFT Daman

Daman | Union Territory —– The National Institute of Fashion Technology, Daman campus, organised an Artisan Awareness Week, a successful series of sessions held from September 22nd to 24th. The program brought together renowned artisans from across the region to demonstrate their expertise and receive marketing insights and guidance on current market trends and strategies while working with Fashion Management Students.

The participating artisans included Roshan Chitara from Ahmedabad, a skilled Mata ni Pachedi artist specializing in Kalamkari with 15 years of experience and a cluster of 50-60 artisans. It is a traditional form of Kalamkari art from Gujarat, India. Artists specializing in this craft create intricate hand-painted or block-printed textiles depicting the Mother Goddess (Mata) from the Hindu puranas. Mata ni Pachedi is a unique textile-painting tradition practiced by the Vaghari community in Ahmedabad. These textiles serve as backdrops for the Mother Goddess in village temples.

Tadvi Vipulkumar and Tadvi Jayaraj from Narmada, Vadodara, showcased their expertise in bamboo and wood crafts, each representing a cluster of 30 members. Ms. Chetna Gohil from Ahmedabad demonstrated Aliq patchwork, a family craft with roots in Pakistan, and part of Craftizen Handmade Producers Company under DC Handicraft. Mr. Harsh Solanki from Chhota Udaipur represented a cluster of 300 artisans, while Jai Gohil, a heritage painter and member of Lalit Kala Academy, shared his expertise.

The artisans were guided by a team of Master of Fashion Management students from NIFT, who provided valuable management interventions to support the artisans. This initiative aligned with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision to support Indian arts and crafts, especially in the current geopolitical scenario. Director of NIFT, Dr. Brijesh Deore, lauded the effort and emphasized that working with indigenous crafts to support India’s journey towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat is a declared objective of NIFT.