Preserving the textile heritage

THE historical links between Sarawak and India are evident not only in the similarities between their cultures but also their textiles.

Indian craft conservationist, Kamaldeep, also known as Kamal, finds this likeness amazing.

“As I studied the techniques and their history more deeply, I found lots of connections,” she said.

So she decided to delve deeper into the backgrounds of both countries.

According to her, due to the Indian influence in Southeast Asia during the Indian Dynasty (100BC to 1400AD), many of the cultures of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia now bear great Indian sway.

And batik is one of them. It is a tie-dye-wax method from Ancient India. During that era, natural dye (indigo and brown) was the only available colouring, and motifs such as butterflies and flowers – prevalent in local batik sarongs – were widely used.

“I started thinking if I could work on reviving the old textile techniques, why couldn’t I do the same for the old relationship with Malaysia since we are still close culturally with the large number of Indians living here,” Kamal recalled.

Fascinated by the Pua Kumbu and Songket, she took pains to learn the techniques in making them and after much experimentation and research, came up with her first collection.

“I hardly use weaving – my main line of work is in resist dyeing and printing. So it became a challenge to interpret and incorporate these weaving designs into my own techniques.

“It took extensive research and experimentation – the results were my first collection of Sonket designs in baandhani techniques,” she explained.

Instant hit

The new techniques were not only popular in India but considerably so as well in Malaysia during the WEFT Forum and the Rainforest World Music Craft Bazaar.

The collection was an instant hit, prompting the Sarakraf Pavillion to collaborate with the designer to organise a fashion show during the World Eco Fiber and Textile Forum last year.

Keen to re-establish ties between India and Malaysia, Kamal, under her NGO called Neelgar, invited local university students to design projects and develop products, using Indian-Malaysian techniques and motifs.

In so doing, she hoped to bring back the same depth of bilateral relationship that existed during the textile and spice trade and create a new history future generations could be proud of.

Kamal was deeply involved in local textile culture since arriving in the state at the invitation of Dr June Ngo of Unimas.

She first came to Malaysia in 2005 for the Treasures of the Nanhai exhibition in Kuala Lumpur after being invited by Che Engku Dato Seri Puan Sri Mahirah.

The 37-year-old designer is a world renowned figure in fabric conservation. Her father wanted her to be a doctor but she had no interest in doing medicine.

Her father relented and she took up fashion designing instead, and soon after completing her studies, was hand-picked to join India’s top designer, JJ Vallaya.

Her stint in the fashion industry taught her the functionality of the market but her passion lay in fabric dyeing and printing.

So she left and joined the Gujarat state emporium in 1997 and started exploring traditional techniques through extensive research and design development in the villages.

Again she was singled out to handle as six-month project in tie-and-dye by the Ministry of Textiles where she worked with two different groups in clamp baandhani technique. Her enthusiasm showed and she was further awarded more projects in the genre from 1998-2006.

Progressive

Kamal started with only six workers but now has 500 under her payroll.

“My greatest pleasure is seeing the smiles on the women’s faces that tell me they can still continue doing what they do best and at the same time, getting paid.”

Although her biggest initial obstacle was convincing these women to work, she remained undaunted.

“They are female villagers whose top priority is their family. They can only work during their free time and often when something happens, like one of the children falling sick or there is a family celebration, they stop work.”

Providing these women with constant work was also a challenge. The other downside was that when there was no demand, the craft would die a natural death. In fact, it was on the verge of dying out at one time.

To circumvent this, Kamal traversed the globe, taking part in exhibitions and trade fairs to promote and create awareness for the craft.

Her efforts paid off when demands started pouring in and she was kept busy. The village women were also given regular work.

“It’s a win-win situation for me and the craft which is getting a new lease of life and empowering the female workers,” she said.

The fashion designer turned conservationist is heavy on environment, advocating the use of natural dyes, and proud that all her products are environment-friendly.

In 2000, she had her first collection of ‘one of a kind’ scarves and shawls made of silk, using natural dyes. Highly successfully, they became her main product line, and remains so today.

Neelgar, Kamal’s company, was mooted when she started producing soft furnishings and Indian garments and fabrics.

Learning the ropes

While Kamal works on reviving traditional crafts, Mazahar Khan (Khan to his friends) markets them.

The CEO of Honeycomb International, an global exporter of textiles and fabrics, Khan did not start off in this line.

In fact, he is a science graduate and a certified pilot. Initially, he had no interests in business, let alone fabrics.

His father, Nazir Mohamed, an engineer, started the business with a keen interest to conserve traditional Indian textile techniques some 50 years ago.

When Khan completed his tertiary education, his father’s business had so prospered that it quadrupled in size.

So in a way, he had no choice but to join his father’s business. He was just being a dutiful son and in his first year, the young man was “merely tolerating the industry.”

Being young, he couldn’t understand the logic of conservation and preservation. He was more in tune with modernity and its conveniences.

“Despite my lack of passion, I made sure I learned the ropes,” Khan said, adding that it was only after mastering the rudiments that he learned to appreciate the historical aspect of the business.

Khan also understood the need to preserve the exquisite beauty and uniqueness of his country’s crafts.

Now the business is his life and he sleeps, eats and breathes fabric. From batik to block printing, embroidery to patchwork, Khan knows all about them and he does more than his share to promote the crafts from Gujerat and its nearby provinces.

It’s a drastic change from his initial career plan and now, he can’t imagine life without textiles.

As his father’s business grew, so did the staff. Khan hires workers all over India, including Kashmir where he gets his carpets.

“We go to the villagers to recruit workers and they work from home. That way, they need not leave their families,” he said, adding that the finished products were sent to the city where they would be made into ready-for-sale items.

Khan visits his workers periodically, at the same time, sourcing for new materials and ideas for the company.

Travelling extensively to market his goods, he brings along his craftsmen to show them the significance of their work to their country’s history.

“I don’t want them to think they are just workers of a company. I want to show them how their works benefit the world historically.”

Honeycomb International manufactures quality to mass-produced items like garments and soft furnishings for customers across the world. Among the many departmental store giants that sell its products are Sears, Macy, British Home Stores, Mark and Spencer.

Both Khan and Kamal have provided employment to the abject poor in rural India. In their own ways, they have contributed immensely to the conservation of age-old textile techniques and injected new life to an otherwise dying tradition. They have restored Indian pride.

“Textiles lie at the heart of the exchange mechanisms of many societies. These processes are not only economic – many social, political and spiritual contracts are sealed through the giving and receiving of cloths. Gift exchange is widely practised to ensure the circulation of commodities in Southeast Asian societies.”

The foregoing quote by John Guy sums up the duo’s passion for preserving the textile heritage.