National, 2020: Tata Power’s ‘SaheliWorld.org’ is a dedicated website offering handmade products by its self-help groups, farmers and women micro entrepreneurs from rural India on one platform. With an intent to take its patrons back to the roots of rich indigenous products, the e-commerce platform, today, launched the ‘Warli Art Collection’ from its Jawahar artisans.
Through this collection, the Company aims to revive and popularize this unique 400-year-old ancient Indian art form and inspire today’s youth to recognize the distinct lifestyle of the Warli tribe of Western India.
The new collection offers varied range of hand made products which are reasonably priced and includes Apparels like T-shirts, Sarees and Kurtis, Home Furnishing items like Cushion covers, wall hanging & curtains, Seasonal products like umbrellas and COVID Essentials like masks. All products have the Warli art form meticulously incorporated into it to form a perfect blend of folklore and contemporary. Special care has gone into the curation of the products to ensure that it in finds a place in the everyday lives of the youth and includes T-shirts & caps, handloom sarees, umbrellas and Covid-19 masks, range of wall paintings, home décor & furnishing items such as curtains & cushion covers along with other traditional handicrafts.
The products under the Warli Collection have been curated in a way to incorporate the art form into everyday items to affirm that old world charm and modern-day style can go hand in hand. While the Apparels collection flaunts T-shirts and Sarees painted with Warli designs that are perfect for everyday use, the Home Furnishing offerings include Warli curtains and cushion covers that will be a quintessential accessory in bringing your home together. The uncertain times that the world is going through has also been identified and a special COVID Response Collection is also launched with tasteful and trendy face masks and other protective items. There are also seasonal products including Warli Designer umbrellas and Wall Paintings.
Mr Praveer Sinha, CEO & MD, Tata Power, said, “We at Tata Power have always supported and empowered the lives of our communities. The launch of ‘Warli collection” is extremely delightful for all of us within the organization. It has helped the SHG’s to earn livelihood despite the current challenging times.
Speaking on the new collection, Ms Shalini Singh, Chief-Corporate Communications & Sustainability said, “We are happy to launch our new ‘Warli Art Collection’ which is centered on promoting, preserving, inspiring and bringing back the cultural influence of the Warli art form. By promoting this collection, we are trying to prevent such art forms from dying an unnatural death and inspiring consumers to connect with this rich art form.”
Much like Warli as an art form, SaheliWorld’s gifted and talented artisans have also been very rooted and inclined towards capturing the essence of this tribe beautifully through these products. Yogita Bombade who is a gifted artisan and trainer is associated with Saheliworld through AYUSH our implementing partner describes her journey. “I’ve always nurtured a passion for art and an interest in learning that pushed me to complete ATD – Art Diploma. Even though I took the admission for higher studies after this, I was unable to pay the fees. I was on the verge of dropping out when I came to know about the SaheliWorld initiative of Tata Power. They were impressed with the samples that I showed them, and I got an opportunity to participate in the various training and knowledge sharing sessions organized. This helped me create artworks and provided me a steady income that helped me continue my education.”
With over 500 members like Yogita Bombade associated with ‘SaheliWorld.org’ today, the company has not only managed to spread awareness about various traditional crafts and preserve a rich part of our natural cultural heritage but also empowered the lives of these members by making them financially independent.
