Bhubaneswar: Odisha is known for its intricate weaving and traditional handloom sarees which are quite unique for their weaving techniques, motifs, colours, embellishments and overall ethnic look.
Many celebrities from India and abroad have draped these beautiful Odisha hand woven sarees ranging from Indira Gandhi, Pratibha Patil, Indonesia’s Megavati Sukarnaputri, Sonia Gandhi to popular cultural icons and celebrities like Taslima Nasreen, Pratibha Ray, Asha Bhosle . Shabana Azmi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vidya Balan and the list goes on.
famous tie-and-dye silk saree It’s in the news again, though for no good reason.
Vishwanath Meher, a National Award winning weaver, who won a National Award for his innovative artistic creation of ‘maa’ weaving in 13 different languages on sari, was ‘hurt’ after a Sonepur-based businessman Rabi Meher allegedly claimed And there is ‘pain’. The saree is designed by the latter. Meher said that he is going to file a case of plagiarism against the businessman for making false claims.
“I don’t mind if some other weaver weaves the same design that I did years ago. But when someone else is taking credit for my work, I feel very sad and hurt. As a weaver when I created a new pattern I visualized the look of the saree before placing a thread. So it is unfair to defame someone for his work and call him his own,” said 42-year-old Mehr.
Vishwanath said, after winning the state award for his saree on the theme of ‘Environmental Protection’, he felt inspired and thought of doing something unique that could fetch him the award at the national level.
“I consulted junior weaving supervisor Praful Meher when I thought of competing at the national level. It was his idea to weave ‘maa’ in different Indian languages to attract the attention of all the jury members and people from other states. And it got the National Award,” Biswanath said.
He received the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madras University, Chennai on the occasion of the first Handloom Day on August 7, 2015.
However, Rabi Meher denied the allegations and said that it was his original idea.
“The thought hit me during the lockdown. I didn’t know that any other weaver had done this before and got a National Award for it. We are weaving hundreds of innovative designs and this is one of them. If a new design falls on me and I think customers will love it, we weave it. I don’t think anyone should have a problem with it.”
Researcher and culture enthusiast Anita Sabat said, “It is immoral to claim unfair credit for someone or justify someone else’s work. This is happening in the age of social media when all the real people involved with creation are present. The original creator should be given due recognition and punished for making false claims.”
Many celebrities from India and abroad have draped these beautiful Odisha hand woven sarees ranging from Indira Gandhi, Pratibha Patil, Indonesia’s Megavati Sukarnaputri, Sonia Gandhi to popular cultural icons and celebrities like Taslima Nasreen, Pratibha Ray, Asha Bhosle . Shabana Azmi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vidya Balan and the list goes on.
famous tie-and-dye silk saree It’s in the news again, though for no good reason.
Vishwanath Meher, a National Award winning weaver, who won a National Award for his innovative artistic creation of ‘maa’ weaving in 13 different languages on sari, was ‘hurt’ after a Sonepur-based businessman Rabi Meher allegedly claimed And there is ‘pain’. The saree is designed by the latter. Meher said that he is going to file a case of plagiarism against the businessman for making false claims.
“I don’t mind if some other weaver weaves the same design that I did years ago. But when someone else is taking credit for my work, I feel very sad and hurt. As a weaver when I created a new pattern I visualized the look of the saree before placing a thread. So it is unfair to defame someone for his work and call him his own,” said 42-year-old Mehr.
Vishwanath said, after winning the state award for his saree on the theme of ‘Environmental Protection’, he felt inspired and thought of doing something unique that could fetch him the award at the national level.
“I consulted junior weaving supervisor Praful Meher when I thought of competing at the national level. It was his idea to weave ‘maa’ in different Indian languages to attract the attention of all the jury members and people from other states. And it got the National Award,” Biswanath said.
He received the award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Madras University, Chennai on the occasion of the first Handloom Day on August 7, 2015.
However, Rabi Meher denied the allegations and said that it was his original idea.
“The thought hit me during the lockdown. I didn’t know that any other weaver had done this before and got a National Award for it. We are weaving hundreds of innovative designs and this is one of them. If a new design falls on me and I think customers will love it, we weave it. I don’t think anyone should have a problem with it.”
Researcher and culture enthusiast Anita Sabat said, “It is immoral to claim unfair credit for someone or justify someone else’s work. This is happening in the age of social media when all the real people involved with creation are present. The original creator should be given due recognition and punished for making false claims.”
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