SILIGURI, 8 Aug: Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Director of Tourism, Bengia Manna Sonam, said that weaving is an art.
Interacting with reporters at the Sunday Haat here in West Bengal on the occasion of the National Handloom Day, Sonam, who is leading a team of 30 delegates from the state, said, “In our state, every house has more than one loom; every lady in the house is a master weaver and is proud to wear self-woven clothes.”
“Most looms are loin looms, where every community has their own colour combination and motifs. In Arunachal Pradesh, life is around looms. While the rest of the children in the country are busy learning ABCD, our children, along with introduction to alphabets, are also introduced to weaving.”
The team, comprising tourism officers, homestay owners, tour operators and rural entrepreneurs, joined the others from Assam, Bihar, Sikkim and West Bengal and a large delegation from Nepal to celebrate the National Handloom Day here.
Various stalls displayed natural and handmade agro-produce, handicraft and handlooms, and famous boutique owners, fashion designers and models from Mumbai, Kolkata and Siliguri set up stalls displaying handloom items.
A fashion show dedicated to handloom was also organised.
A handbook containing information on homestays, tour operators, tourist circuits and rural communities was released in book form, titled ‘Arunachal Pradesh Biodiversity Communities’.
On the other hand, “Google art and culture carried the story about Arunachal Pradesh weaving globally through a document which was created as a part of intangible cultural heritage survey of the 18 communities with the support of Arunachal’s tourism department,” according to a release.
