Craft revivalist and textile conservationist, Madhu Jain, who's a famous Indian designer has been awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 by none other than President Ram Nath Kovind for her contribution to women's empowerment.
The designer took to Facebook to express her gratitude after being felicitated by the President. She wrote, "Thirty one years ago i decided to follow my heart.....chose to convert my passion for our 2000 year old indian textile traditions into a career option....chose to use the weave as a form of embellishment.... chose a craft and textile journey only with the organic and the sustainable at a time when it was unheard off....chose to be low key and focus only on my work....chose ethics over making a quick buck......today,at Rashtrapati Bhawan i truly felt that it was the right path i chose.....every minute of the struggle was worth it .....thank you almighty for showing me the way to empower myself... and through my work also impact the lives of hundreds of weavers and craftspersons.....fashion really can be an extremely powerful tool to bring about change....(sic)"
Jain, along with 29 women from all walks of life, received the award recently, on the occasion of International Women's Day.
It was her passion for India's indigenous textiles that witnessed the rise of various forms of Ikat and even re-introduction of Dhaka Muslin, which disappeared from India after the partition.
Acknowledged with the title of 'the first lady of Ikat', Madhu has introduced world's first Bamboo Silk Ikat and the new textile is a result of 14 years of hard work and extensive research.
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