In ancient Bengal, Phulia in Nadia district became famous for Krittibas Ojha, who wrote the Ramayana in Bengali.
Now, Phulia has hit the headlines because of Biren Kumar Basak, the man behind the weavers’ movement in Nadia. The Padma awardee Basak has organised 6,000 weavers (3,000 women and 3,000 men) and brought about a revolution in hand-woven sarees, particularly Tangail and Jamdani.
The life of Mr Basak is more thrilling than any movie. In 1962, he came to Phulia with his father and brothers from East Pakistan. They were original residents of Tangail, the place famous for the production of Tangail sarees.
As a young adult, he used to accompany his brother and come to Kolkata to sell Tangail sarees. They visited different shops and sold sarees.
During one such venture, the owner of a shop in Burrabazar refused to buy the sarees for their price. Three women who were present at the shop liked the designs and bought the sarees. They gave them their visiting cards and asked them to see them at their residence on Ballygunge Circular Road. These women got them introduced to their friends, who started wearing hand-made Tangail and Jamdani sarees.
In the early 1970s, during a visit to the refugee handicraft shop on Gariahat Road, they met two sophisticated women who liked the Tangail sarees and asked them to see her at her residence on Beltola Road. “We did not know who she was, and on reaching the house, we found that she was Maya Roy, wife of Siddhartha Shankar Ray, the then chief minister of West Bengal. Maya Di got us introduced to her friends, relatives and acquaintances. This changed our luck, and from them we did not have to look behind. We started from Phulia early in the morning and returned back home by the last train from Sealdah station,” Mr Basak said, adding, “We became close to Satyajit Ray and Hemanta Mukherjee, and the women members of their families had enjoyed wearing Tangail sarees.” The other lady whom we met at the refugee rehabilitation store was Sabita Ghosh, who was the wife of the then finance minister Shankar Ghosh.
The sarees made by Mr Basak are priced anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10 lakh.
“The weavers take six to eight months to make one saree. We have five designers who gave them the designs, but I selected the colour. There are more than one thousand colour combinations, and the colours are very important. We have clients across the country who buy premium quality sarees, and both the design and colour add value to the saree,” he maintained.
Mr Basak said Jamdani sarees have a history. When food was served to the Mughal nawabs and aristocrats, the plates were covered with a piece of cloth with fine designs. This was called Jambuni. With the passage of time, the designs were tried on sarees and called Jamdani. Jamdani is the design. There are Muga sarees with Jamdani designs.
Mr Basak also makes wall hangings, and the starting price is Rs 55,000. “The designs are very fine, and the weaver takes not less than six months to make a wall hanging. “If you want quality, then you must have patience and give freedom to the weavers,” he said.
Mr Basak said that to woo young women and men, Jamdani-printed salwar kurtas and shirts are available. “Both men and women are liking our design, and salwar kurtas and shirts are in high demand,” he said.
Most of the weavers belong to the SC and ST categories, and they earn Rs 700 per day. The women have formed self-help groups, and a supervisor looks after a group of 25 women. “We give them the designs, and they use the loom to make sarees, wall hangings and dress materials,” Mr Basak remarked.
Mr Basak has attended the international fair in Australia, where the visitors liked the sarees he made.
“I have one regret in life. I wished to set up a museum on Tangail, Jamdani and Tussar sarees. The money that would be collected from the museum would be spent on the students who come from economically challenged backgrounds. So far, I have failed to start the work, and I really do not know whether, at 75 years of age, I will be able to set up a museum,” Mr Basak observed, adding, “I remember those days when we did not get a square meal, and now God has given me everything—name, fame and prestige. My only son has also joined the business. I only want to see that the weavers become well established in life and their hard work gets global recognition.”