Dehradun: Uttarakhand, like any other mountain-state is known for its varied handicraft, which once forgotten, has now found wings due to individual and collective efforts by sons and daughters of the soil. Today we talk about Designer Upender Rawat, employed in an IT company in Dehradun, whose efforts have given a fresh lease of life to Bamboo baskets, with his initiative, Honey Handicrafts.
Inspired by his wife Udesh Rawat’s handicraft skills, Upender started his search for bamboo weavers, a memory from his childhood spent in the hills. Lady luck struck! Within two three months of looking around, Upender search ended in Sahaspur Laanga area, in the outskirts of Dehradun. Here, he came across a family of seven to eight weavers, who had, despite the onslaught of modernisation, kept alive the dying art of ringaal (bamboo) baskets with intricate weaving in all sizes.
Upender tells Newspost, “I belong to the hills and have grown up in a village where two to three families were dedicated to the art of weaving, but as it dint get them any financial help, the art was soon buried in wooden trunks.“
Today Gopal and his family have restarted the art solely due to Upender’s constant encouragement. The first few samples were delivered to Upender a few months back and he decided to put them on Facebook to reach a wider client-base, to ensure that his family of weavers would soon make monetary benefits from it.
“The customised baskets are completed within two to three days. The family is in the process of passing on their talent to the next generation, which for me is a personal reward,” beams Upender.
He adds, “Though there are plenty of artisans in the State, they lack a proper platform to showcase their skill. These hand-woven bamboo baskets are eco-friendly, durable and organic. They can be used for multi-purposes and should be encouraged at all levels.“
Keeping the festive season in mind, Upender has given a 70% discount on all the baskets for now, hoping that it will bring the much-sort-after Goddess Lakshmi to the homes of those who need it the most.
