They say if it’s the fork you remember after a dinner, then the food wasn't good enough! Well, I will be lying if I say that the food for thought discussed at the "Thanima’17" seminar was all I remember... The scenic view of the Konkan Railway from the window seat, crossing the green ghats amidst the backdrop of an orange sunset, the sadhya meal on banana leaf, strolling at the Kozikode beach nibbling banana chips, sipping filter coffee by the back waters...were reason enough for me to pack my bag and head to the very God’s own country.

‘Aham Bhumika’ is an NGO, a group of like-minded people based in Bhopal, a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. The diverse group consists of artists, housewives, engineers, tourist guides, teachers, and government employees. As a humble start-up, they are striving for the betterment of the underprivileged in rural areas of India.

To help the underprivileged children, destitute, and orphans by involving generous people from the cities by collecting material discarded by them (clothes, bicycles, books, toys, newspapers, etc.) for the underprivileged people One can just walk in and join as a volunteer at Aham Bhumika and make their contribution to the betterment of society. The main project undertaken is the embroidery project in Borda, 4 km from Bhopal. It is to empower the women folk of the region by generating lively hood through embroidery. These panels are then converted into tote bags, cushion covers, and pouches. A fair share of the profit goes to the artists.

They have established collection centres in Bhopal where you can contribute clothes, bicycles, toys, books, and grain. One can also help us by sponsoring various events organised by us and paying for transportation, printing of literature, etc. They also accept monetary contributions through a check or demand draught favouring ‘Aham Bhumika Swayam Sevi Sanstha," payable at Bhopal.

The project is about celebrating the handmade, not giving away the pleasure of creating a cloth to a machine, knowing where the cotton of a thread comes from, where the thread for khadi comes from, where the cloth for my kurta comes from, etc. The project is about the women of the Ahir tribes in Kutch, who spend their day embroidering vivid patterns that remind one of the works of Paul Klee. Women with no formal training who have created a world around their remote thatched households. The project is about the young weavers at the Handloom School, Maheshwar, who didn’t opt out of their family occupation of weaving but instead will continue the tradition while remodelling with the current fashion trends.

The project is about Shrinu, my guide, and a new recruit at the weaver service centre on Charni Road. With an experience of more than 15 years in jacquard loom, he humbly teaches me the intricacies of working on table loom while himself earning for his children to study well and get ‘good-paying’ jobs. The project is also an attempt to understand Gandhi and his urge for everyone to spin! The man who patronised the richness of Indian textiles and himself wore just a lion cloth At last, it's about celebrating the handmade, not giving the pleasure of creating a cloth to a machine. To know where the cotton of a thread comes from, the thread for khadi comes from, the cloth for my kurta comes from...

A significant part of the project would be an attempt to learn the work ethics of a weaver, who sits quietly on a loom, weaving a seven-yard fabric. To weave as a daily routine. While aiming to hone my skills with each 'satak-su' sound...

With some experience working on the table loom from my previous project, I will learn to weave on a full-frame loom. It's an extension of Project 2 in the sense that one keeps the 'embedded narrative' intact but also attempts to reflect on the meaning of creativity in our times.

One part of the project is a collaborative association with ten B.Tech. IITB students and Mr. Shrinu (a weaver at Weaver Service Centre, Mumbai) over a period of three months. It would be a collective engagement with weaving, thereby creating handloom products such as scarves, mats, and tote bags. To reflect on the sartorial choices that fill our wardrobe, with high-end brands like Fabindia at one extreme and Khadigram apparel at the other end.