Handloom industries suffered a huge hit amid the pandemic. Among them are the weavers of Maheshwar, a town in the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh. The place is known to have been the centre of handloom weaving since the 5th century and is popular for its colourful Maheshwari saris.
Maheshwar weavers recently did something special to promote their craft — they used it to encourage vaccination. As part of the campaign, weavers got together at Ahilya Ghat and used a number of beautiful Maheshwari saris to design the message “Covid-19 Vaccinate Yourself” and displayed it on the ghats.
The pandemic has hit hard on livelihood of local artisans & vaccination can help normalise things around. Handloom weavers from Maheshwar have creatively used their craft to encourage vaccination. Get yourself vaccinated & support local artisans by buying local stuff.#MPTourism pic.twitter.com/ZEZn218k0h
— Madhya Pradesh Tourism (@MPTourism) June 21, 2021
“Most people of Maheshwar primarily depend on the handloom industry. The impact [of the pandemic] has been such that a household with two-income providers found it difficult to put food on the table. There came a time when all our savings were exhausted and we faced many hardships,” a weaver said in a video shared by Madhya Pradesh Tourism.
“There is no other source of income in Maheshwar apart from handloom weaving. If tourists do not come and buy our woven textiles and saris then we won’t have enough work,” another weaver said in the video.
A Maheshwari weaver expressed, “We hope to spread the message that everybody should get themselves vaccinated and defeat the pandemic and get back to their normal lives, so that the handloom business, which was shut down, can be resumed smoothly and successfully once again.”
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