Smriti Rekha Chakma | |
---|---|
Born | Tripura, India | 20 September 1964
Occupation(s) | Artisan and loin-loom weaver |
Awards | Padma Shri (2024) |
Smriti Rekha Chakma is an Indian artisan and loin-loom weaver from the Chakma community in Tripura known for her work with eco-friendly, vegetable-dyed cotton threads in traditional designs. [1] She is the founder of Ujeia Jadha, an organization that trains rural and tribal women in weaving techniques. [2] [3]
In 2024, she was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, for her contribution to eco-friendly loin loom artistry. [4]
Born in 1964, Chakma grew up in the Chakma community. From a young age, she watched her grandmother weave on a loin loom, an old traditional tool, which sparked her interest in weaving. [5] Chakma uses natural dyes in her work, made from locally gathered roots, seeds, herbs, and leaves. To make the dyes, she dries, crushes, and extracts colors from these natural items. [6]
In addition to her weaving, Chakma founded Ujeia Jadha to preserve traditional weaving and teach skills to rural and tribal women. [6]
Ikat is a dyeing technique from Southeast Asia used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. In Southeast Asia, where it is the most widespread, ikat weaving traditions can be divided into two general groups of related traditions. The first is found among Daic-speaking peoples. The second, larger group is found among the Austronesian peoples and spread via the Austronesian expansion to as far as Madagascar. It is most prominently associated with the textile traditions of Indonesia in modern times, from where the term ikat originates. Similar unrelated dyeing and weaving techniques that developed independently are also present in other regions of the world, including India, Central Asia, Japan, Africa, and the Americas.
Jamdani is a fine muslin textile produced for centuries in South Rupshi of Narayanganj district in Bangladesh on the bank of Shitalakhwa river.
The Tripuri people (Kókborok: Tripuri dópha rok, are a Tibeto-Burman-speaking ethnic group of Bangladesh and Northeast Indian state of Tripura. They are the descendants of the inhabitants of the Twipra/Tripura Kingdom in North-East India and Bangladesh. The Tripuri people through the Manikya dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Tripura for over 600 years starting from 1400 A.D. until the kingdom joined the Indian Union on 15 October 1949. The Tipra Dynasty was established in 590 AD.
The culture of Tripura is distinct and a bit similar to other people of Northeast India. However like Assam, Manipur, Burma and Southeast Asia culture of Tripura is characterized in small portion where people live in plain and hill areas. Tripura is a state in North East India. In the 2001 census of India, Bengalis represented almost 70% of the population and the Tripuri population comprised 30% of Tripura's population. The Tripuri population comprises some clans and ethnic groups with diverse languages and cultures. The largest native group was the Tripuri who had a population of 543,848 in 2001 census, representing 16.99% of the state population and 54.7% of the scheduled tribe population. The other group of people in order of decreasing population were Chakma (6.5%), Halam (4.8%), Mog (3.1%), Munda, Kuki tribes and Garo Hajong. Bengali is the most spoken language, due to the dominance of Bengali people in the state. Kokborok (Tripuri/Tiprakok) is a common language among Tripuris and lingua franca in Tripura. Several other languages belonging to Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan families are spoken by the different tribe
Baluchari Sari is a type of sari, a garment worn by women in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam and the country of Bangladesh. This particular type of sari originated in West Bengal and is known for depictions of mythological scenes on the anchal of the sari. It used to be produced in Murshidabad but presently Bishnupur and its surrounding areas of West Bengal are the only place where authentic Baluchari saris are produced. It takes approximately one week to produce one such sari. In 2011, the Baluchari Sari was granted the status of Geographical Indication for West Bengal in India.
Gajam Anjaiah, an Indian master handloom designer, who is widely recognised in the handloom industry for his innovations and developments of Tie and Dye handloom products along with Telia Rumal technique of weaving based on Ikat tie-dye process. He received Padma Shri from Government of India under Art category in 2013. He is known for his excellence in traditional handloom design works, such as Puttapaka Sarees in Tie and dye skill, that is the traditional art of designing on paper and then transferring it on to cloth. His dedication to the Handloom Industry has kept the Indian tradition of weaving alive, brought livelihood to the weavers and gave exclusive/unique designed handloom products to the people in India.
Tulsi Gowda was an Indian environmentalist from Honnali village. She planted more than 30,000 saplings and looked after the nurseries of the Forest Department. Her work has been honoured by the Government of India and other organisations. In 2021, the Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award. She is known as the "Encyclopedia of the Forest" for her ability to recognise the mother tree of any species of tree.
Gajam Govardhana is an Indian master weaver, known for his work in Ikkat dyeing in the Telia Rumal tradition, and for his handloom creations. In 2011 the government of India honoured him with the fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri.
Kunja Bihari Meher was an Indian master craftsman and weaver from Odisha. Born in the Bargarh district, he is known for the Ikkat tradition of weaving, found in the Sambalpuri sarees of Odisha, and is credited with the development of Sambalpuri handloom industry. He was awarded the fourth highest civilian award of the Padma Shri by the Government of India, in 1998. He posthumously won the National Award for Handicrafts of the National Centre for Textile Design in 2009. His son, Surendra Meher, is also a known weaver. Meher died in Barapali on 30 June 2008.
Chaturbhuj Meher is an Indian weaver, considered one of the master weavers of the Tie-dye handloom tradition of Odisha. Born on 13 October 1935 at Sonepur in Odisha, he had formal education only up to school level but learned the traditional weaving craft to join Weavers' Service Centre as a Weaver. Vayan Vihar, a handloom factory and Handloom Research and Training Center, a research institute in Sonepur have been founded by him and he is known to have trained over 10,000 craftsmen.
Padmanabhan Gopinathan is an Indian master weaver of handloom textiles and the founder of Eco Tex Handloom Consortium, an organization promoting handloom weaving in Manjavilakom, a small hamlet in Thiruvananthapuram, in the south Indian state of Kerala. Under the aegis of the organization, he provides employment to over 1800 women in the village. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for his social commitment and his contributions to the art of weaving.
Kotpad Handloom is a vegetable-dyed fabric woven by the tribal weavers of the Mirgan community of Kotpad village in Koraput district, Odisha, India. Cotton sarees with solid border and Pata Anchal, duppatta with typical Buties / motifs, Scolrfs on cotton, silk, handloom stoles, and dress materials are all dyed with organic dyes. The natural dye is manufactured from the aul tree grown in this area. The Kotpad tussar silk saree with tribal art and Kotpad handloom fabrics with natural color is its specialty.
Gobardhan Panika is an Indian master weaver of Kotpad handloom a traditional tribal craft. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2018, for his contributions to the art of weaving.
Kamala Pujari was an Indian tribal farmer from Koraput in Odisha, India. She was known for promoting organic farming. Interested in traditional farming, she learned the basic techniques from MS Swaminathan Research Foundation at Jeypore and contributed a lot in the field of organic farming. She was awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.
Leela Joshi is an Indian gynaecologist and social worker known for her work for the welfare of tribal women and teenage girls suffering from Anemia in Ratlam district. She has been nicknamed Mother Teresa of Madhya Pradesh and received Padma Shri in 2020.
Smriti Morarka is an Indian social activist reviving handwoven cloth and improving mental health. In 2019 she was awarded the "Woman Power Award" Nari Shakti Puraskar by the President of India on International Women's Day in recognition of the example she has made.
Benichandra Jamatia was a Tripuri Indian folk writer and litterateur, known for his contribution to the fields of literature, songs and education in Tripura. He is credited with introducing the baul singing tradition of West Bengal in Kokborok language for the first time. In 2020, he was awarded the Padma Shri (2020), the fourth-highest civilian award in India. He died at his home on 14 December 2020.
Biren Kumar Basak is an Indian handloom weaver from the Nadia district. He is the recipient of Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India.
Chitta Maharaj is an Indian spiritual guru and head of the Shanti Kali Ashram. He was honored with the Karmayogi Award in 2021 for his contribution towards tribal welfare, health and organic agriculture, social upliftment, education in remote and tribal areas of Tripura through spiritual and education. In 2024, he was awarded the Padma Shri (2024), the fourth-highest civilian award in India.