The whole nine yards

Swati Piramal’s varied interests are fuelled by an interest in history, finds Abhilasha Ojha

For the first woman president of ASSOCHAM and Director of Piramal Healthcare, life for Swati Piramal is, by her own admission, a fine balance. “Sometimes I wonder how I do it,” she admits.

Her latest venture is an exhibition she has put together, that will showcase the works of 10 handloom saree weavers, Women Entrepreneurs 2010. Piramal calls it a “unique initiative by ASSOCHAM”, having travelled to 10 different states of the country over two-three months to interact with the weavers and observe them at work. “They work in deplorable conditions. The beautiful sarees that they create may sell for thousands of rupees but what they get is pittance,” she says, “What these weavers create become heirlooms, which pass from one generation to the other, and yet they get scant respect,” she adds.

 

It was, in fact, her own fascination with the saree that prompted Piramal to organise the exhibition for ASSOCHAM. Travelling around the country to source the sarees and watch the weavers at work proved to be a unique experience. “I collected many varieties. It reminded me of the time when my mother had picked out and packed all my sarees when I got married,” says Piramal. Women Entrepreneurs 2010 will travel to Turkey, where, as Piramal explains, weavers from India will make their versions of the hijaab (traditional head scarves worn by Muslim women) in Patola, Bandhini and other weaves. “Handlooms and weaves are part of every country’s culture. It’s heartening to know that women from all over the world want to connect through it even today,” she says.

Her own collection boasts some distinctive ones, including rare Jamewar, Parsee (“the Gara embroidery is a lost art,” she explains), south Indian temple sarees, among others. Piramal has been collecting sarees since the day she got married and admits that she’s lost count of the number that are stocked in her wardrobe. “Thousands, maybe,” she admits sheepishly. “Actually, I love history and sarees are so intrinsic to Indian history,” she says.

Piramal, apart from being an avid saree collector, also collects antique books. Frequent trips to Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar and Old Delhi’s Jama Masjid area “where I’ve found some invaluable books”, has added to the collection which “is a nightmare for my husband because we’re running out of book shelves and cupboards”. From a gully in Kutch to a bylane in Marrakesh, to the book markets in Egypt, Piramal says that she actively goes searching for these books. Apart from rare books on 16th century Hindu poets, she also has a recipe book, handwritten by Sir John Malcolm, the governor of Mumbai, under the East India Company, from 1827-1830.

She also loves reading and writing poetry, “stuff that I write out whenever I find some time; on a flight, at home on Sundays, in-between journeys to office”. She likes contemporary poetry and finds herself leaning towards the works of Rumi and Bulleh Shah. “I finished reading a lot of Icelandic poetry because we recently had a dignitary arriving from there,” Piramal tells us adding that she always carries, in her handbag, a little notebook in which she jots down her poetry.

If Piramal’s interest in sarees, travelling, collecting old books and poetry is fuelled by history, her love for beautiful buildings is also fuelled by it. Some years ago, Piramal and her husband purchased a building near Mumbai which belonged to the Maharaja of Sanghli. “It’s a three- to four-hour drive from Mumbai and it was built in 1865 and though it was old and dilapidated, there was something wonderful about it,” she adds. What followed was a massive restoration project, whereby “I could, without destroying the original structure, give it a contemporary twist”. She cites an example: “The entire flooring in the place was done with rare Thomas Minton tiles. I found out that the famous ceramist’s family lived in the south of France. Later, when my husband and I were there on holiday, we went to meet the family and brought back identical tiles, which are now a part of the building once again.”

She’s recently developed an interest in gardening, and finds it therapeutic. And while she’s in the process of setting up an organic terrace garden, Piramal’s itching to find some time to tend to her plants. “I’m brimming with ideas but there’s so little time to execute many of my plans,” she smiles.

FOLK TALES

Women Entrepreneurs 2010 by ASSOCHAM at The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi; Feb 23-24

PAITHANI (Maharashtra): In this 2,000-year-old art, gold and silver threads are woven together

PATOLA (Gujarat): A rich Patola saree can take two-three years to weave

IKAT (Orissa): Has unique geometrical designs, which appear after the yarn is dipped in dyes.

CHANDERI (MP): Known for its lightness and pastel hues, a chanderi saree is handwoven using fine cotton, silk and zari.

MUGA (Assam): Known for its natural golden colour, in its contemporary form, it can be mixed with other silks like Eri and Pat

KANJIVARAM (Tamilnadu): Traditionally woven in temples, this one is must-have in an Indian wedding trousseau. Mainly woven in the temple city of Kanchipuram

BANARASI (Benares): These sarees were traditionally woven for the royal Mughal families, with real gold and silver threads

KOTA DORIA (Rajasthan): Kota Doria sarees have fine quality cotton and silk yarn that is hand woven in a unique check pattern.

KANTHA (West Bengal): The traditional practice of recycling old saris and dhotis by stitching them together was revived in Santiniketan in the 1940s