Kotpad Dupatta

Description

About the Artisan : Shri Gobardhan Panika is a master-artisan in tribal weaving from Kotpad, Odisha. At the age of 12 years he left school and took up the family business of weaving to help his father, and shoulder responsibilities. Shri Gobardhan Panika is the recipient of several awards and honours for his immense contribution to weaving. The Government of India conferred on him the “National Award” in 2004. The Ministry of Textiles conferred the Honour of Sant Kabir on Shri Panika for development of Janajati Casbandhi Chunni and his contribution in Handloom sector. The Ministry of Textiles also gave him the “Certificate of Merit” for his craftsmanship and contribution to the development of Aruna Saree in 1997. Suraj Kund Mela ranked him as one of the most outstanding craftspeople and gave him the Kala Mani Award in 1998. He continues to work with the same enthusiasm and dedication.
About the Craft: The intricately woven Kotpad textiles are made using hand-spun cotton yarn which is treated with a backbreaking, month-long dyeing process even before being made into a fabric. The dyes are extracts of the Aal tree barks and the shades used are dramatic reds, maroons, rusty pinks, coffee browns and deep blacks. In his own words “To weave a chunni (dupatta) it would take a week, and a sari, a month.” He has fulfilled numerous orders from boutiques, buyers, online shops and has participated in over 600 exhibitions till date – at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and many other cities.