The weavers of Okhai

Okhamandal lies at the tip of the Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat, the westernmost state of India. Beauty, irony and industry co-exist here. This is home to Dwarka, the beautiful temple of Lord Krishna. This is one of the most arid and drought prone regions of the country. This is also the proud home of Tata Chemicals, the place where Tata Salt, one of India’s best loved brands, is produced with great pride. 

From Okhamandal comes this beautiful story of livelihoods and hope, of tribal women who now dream of Paris and Milan. This area is a mosaic of many diverse tribes and communities, including the tall strapping Vaghers and the nomadic Rabaris. Walk with me to the village of Arambdha, and meet Ramiben Nagesh, a Rabari woman. Garbed in bright red tribal attire, she sports large gold earrings and heavy, long neckwear. She talks to us with great pride, about Okhai, a fashion brand created by her friends and herself, with help from the Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD).

Several years ago, Ramiben joined a women’s self-help group set up by TCSRD, designed to empower women and help them generate income for themselves. This dry area does not encourage tribal women to take up any careers beyond taking care of their family livestock, so this was a big change. Then, in 2002, she heard about a unique and creative effort that was also being established by the same Organisation, to create and popularize handicrafts from the Okhamandal region, under a brand called “Okhai” (which means – from Okhamandal).

Ramiben’s curiosity was piqued immediately, because colour and artwork are all-pervasive in Rabari homes. The walls of their huts are decorated with appliqued and finely embroidered wall hangings. These walls are repainted immediately after weddings, with images of men, women, animals and birds set in striking patterns. Many Rabari designs also incorporate interpretations of Lord Krishna, as represented at Dwarka. Like all other Rabari children, Ramiben had been taught art from a very young age, by her family elders.

So, she felt a rekindling of her creative urges, when she heard of “Okhai”. She enlisted the support of her husband and mother-in-law, and joined the Okhai team at Mithapur. In the early days, she worked on pillows, bed sheets and wall decorations. It was fun, and she was paid for her efforts. Then, one fine morning, she was requested to travel to Ahmedabad, to meet a fashion designer. She had never left home earlier, to traverse such a distance. But the promise of breaking through a fresh knowledge barrier gave her the impetus to do so. Accompanied by a few other Rabari women, she went on this life-changing visit.

There, she met with Rupali Agarwal, a reputed designer from Gujarat. Ramiben listened and saw with great interest, the cuts of apparel that appeal to modern women, the design processes involved, and how to maintain the originality of Rabari designs, while interpreting them for today. She returned to Mithapur, her head milling with a thousand different design ideas. Here was raw talent and creativity, being unlocked and set free !

Ramiben and her colleagues incorporated many of the design expert’s inputs, as they went about creating lovely kurtas, kurtis, bedcovers, tablecloths, shawls, skirts, aprons and bags. There are special murals that depict village scenes. There is exquisite beadwork, bold embroidery and innovative mirrorwork. All these products proudly carry the ethnic designs of Okhamandal that are now interpreted with increasing sophistication and finesse. These are the beautiful fashion garments that now constitute brand “Okhai”, one of the most original and authentic fashion brands ever to be created in our country. Over the years, “Okhai” has now come to feature women’s apparel, accessories, home décor, and most recently, even masks.

What has this business done for the tribal women of Okhai ? Listen to Ramiben speak.

“Looking after goats and cows is fine upto a point, but we need a better future for our children. You need education to do well in today’s world. So, I have told my husband, let’s use my earnings from Okhai to give our children good schooling and higher education.

I myself appeared for my twelfth standard exams recently. My work at Okhai has given me the confidence to study even more. My children are very happy that their mother is also studying, and when I returned from the exam hall, they asked me with a stern expression – Mummy, have you done well in your exams?”

Meet Lakhuben, a Rabari woman, who has evolved into an expert master cutter of Okhai garments. In her previous job, she was a manual labourer, cutting and crushing stones for a paltry sum of money. Today, she is a proud part of a fashion brand. 

Meet Khatijaben, a senior woman, and sole breadwinner of her family. She pays for her daughter’s education primarily with her earnings from Okhai. 

Meet Zareena Kureshi, a young bubbly girl and master cutter of garments, who declares – “Okhai is my life.” She says Okhai has opened her eyes to a fresh new world.

Meet 2,300 women, all earning their livelihoods from Okhai today. 1,500 of these women work in and around Mithapur, and the rest are based in Rajasthan, Babrala and Lucknow. Most of them use their income to educate their children. Today, Okhai enables them to send their girls and boys to study further, including evening tuitions where required. 

When I visited Mithapur a few years ago, I asked these tribal weavers of Okhai what their ambition for the brand was. Their response – “We would like to see our garments on the fashion ramps of Milan.” As I looked at them, smiling at me with twinkling eyes, and weaving away, my heart welled with pride, and I held back a few tears, too.

In fact, during the past two years, Okhai has broken new ground, and done very successful exhibitions in Paris, Singapore and New York. Today, over 40,000 women customers trust Okhai and purchase its exquisite garments regularly (www.okhai.org has further details).  

The constant goal of the Tata Chemicals team that works with Okhai is to create the next Ramiben, the next Zareena, the next Lakhuben. Because this is the brand of their livelihoods and dreams.   India is home to a few other similarly conscious brands today. May a thousand Okhais bloom all around us, for the economically backward women of our country.