Jamdani industry must be saved at all cost
BOTH the aesthetic and distinctive designs of Jamdani sarees are under serious threat due to financial hardship of weavers and poor supply of quality threads is bringing the industry to the brink. A news report on Monday said when customers tastes are changing and fashion are taking newer dimension everyday, there is no credible public and private initiative to save the age-old industry with which the country has a historic link with Muslin cloths and a rich culture of Bengaliness from the past. We must say there must be more pro-active government and non-government programmes to end the crisis of the industry and bring it to the fore again.
The issue came up at a seminar on “Jamdani Motif Preservation-2016” in the city on Sunday organized by the National Craft Council of Bangladesh (NCCB). We agree with speakers’ concerns that the challenges that the industry is facing are quite critical and unless credible actions are in hands Jamdani sarees and such other cloths of refined aristocratic taste may eventually become extinct. There is no doubt weavers are failing many impediments on their way. They are failing to use newer weaving techniques and motifs over a long period to keep the industry on track. Many of them have no financial resources, others have no supply of good quality threads and access to wider marketing chain. Financial hardship and particularly lack of low cost loans alone is creating the bigger handicap for expansion of the industry throughout the country. Export of weavers’ products is also not systemic to bring cheers on their face, although Jamdani has big buyers in India and at many other places in the world where Bangladeshi and Indian people have big concentration.
It is sad that with the change of time many traditional home textile has marginalized the space for Moslins and replaced it to a large extent but Jamdani has alone kept Moslins alive. Most weavers of Jamdani have meanwhile left the profession, as they see no prospect at a time when the next generation is not coming up to continue the industry. We must say we can’t let the industry die without credible initiative to keep it alive. It is part of our cultural and industrial heritage and any negligence is not acceptable to let it die.
In our view the government should launch specialized programmes to finance new projects and train younger generation people of Jamdani producers families to take the industry to a new height working on new design and motif. NCCB may play a bigger role to popularise the industry again. What is challenging here is to produce new cloths with new designs and motif to attract more buyers. In our view new designers may play a professional role to supply the industry with new motif and other materials to bring back the good days again. Low cost loans to weavers will alone help the industry to make a come back.
It is sad that with the change of time many traditional home textile has marginalized the space for Moslins and replaced it to a large extent but Jamdani has alone kept Moslins alive. Most weavers of Jamdani have meanwhile left the profession, as they see no prospect at a time when the next generation is not coming up to continue the industry. We must say we can’t let the industry die without credible initiative to keep it alive. It is part of our cultural and industrial heritage and any negligence is not acceptable to let it die.
In our view the government should launch specialized programmes to finance new projects and train younger generation people of Jamdani producers families to take the industry to a new height working on new design and motif. NCCB may play a bigger role to popularise the industry again. What is challenging here is to produce new cloths with new designs and motif to attract more buyers. In our view new designers may play a professional role to supply the industry with new motif and other materials to bring back the good days again. Low cost loans to weavers will alone help the industry to make a come back.
