Manish Malhotra Controversy: Artisans and Weavers Deserve Credit, Not Just Lip Service

Tell us more about the work of Master Weaver Saeed Ur Rehman. Where does he live? What kind of work does he do? What about his family, etc?
Asif Shaikh: Saeed bhai supplies sarees all over India to hundreds or thousands of showrooms as a wholesaler. He creates these real zari special collections which very few stores keep. Nobody gives him credit—that this is designed and produced by his company Taj Estate. I don't know why there is this sense of insecurity that people will go to him directly and buy from him. Nobody will do that. Very few people can go to Banaras. I think it is critical to give credit to the maker who has visualised and created some of the most beautiful textiles. And this is one of the reasons why craft is dying—because we don't give credit to the maker and all the credit goes to the designer.

We have to change that and recognise that it is always a collaborative work. There is nothing wrong in giving credit to the actual maker and this is very important in the 21st century.

Besides supplying all over India, Saeed bhai has worked with the top designers of India. But as I said, nobody gives him credit and I feel bad because he is the main creator. I have sold so many of these Rangkat Banarasi sarees, and I have used those for our fashion shows, for my research and travelling exhibition which is only an educational exhibition with no commercials.

He creates these worldclass textiles, is knowledgeable in terms of technique and creativity. He is a workaholic and all the time he just thinks design. He has hundreds of weavers who are producing for him. But he is the master visualiser, he asks the naqsha-navis to make a design and then he checks, changes and edits, gives colour combinations and the technique to be used, and then the weavers, who are skilled labour, they produce.

You see, without the master you cannot produce anything. Saeed bhai’s entire family is engaged in the business. His father was a master weaver, and they come from a very poor background. His father had left the family and started on his own. So, they have seen poverty, worked very hard to come to this level. But he never talks about all the hardships as he is a very positive person. His two sons are involved in his business now. They are learning and designing, and the daughter has started a small boutique which serves as their retail outlet. The wife gives her inputs to the tailors. This is Saeed bhai’s story. Everybody in the saree industry knows him.

You did not tag Manish Malhotra in the post. Any particular reason? Has there been any feedback from Malhotra's team? Has there been any reaction from the Ambani family? 
Asif Shaikh: I don't want to get into controversies just like that. But whenever I see something against artisans, people exploiting them, not giving credit or not helping them or not paying, I take their side and try to help them. When I saw this post again once back in India, I wondered how can they write like this? I went to the studio and took out the picture from our fashion show, and realised that I should put out this post. My fight is not with Manish Malhotra or the Ambanis. My fight is only for the wrong captions and the wrong information. I do not think I should approach anyone because that's not my job.

The Malhotra post says that only a few Banaras weavers have the expertise to craft such a saree. So, do you know who actually created the one worn by Nita Ambani?
Asif Shaikh: See… the proof was there in the post; so, I don't have to write their name because as I said I don’t want to go into unnecessary trouble for myself. Not that I am exposing something purposely. I am just guiding people and telling them not to follow the designer blindly. Just see and know that there are creators behind each handcrafted designerwear—give them the due respect.
When you go to a designer you don’t bargain, but when you go to an artist you definitely do that and not pay them the full amount. Everybody knows that I will take objection when I see something going wrong with the artisan. I don't want to fight with people.

Today's strong platform is social media, and I posted there. The other day Radhika Maharani told me that they have changed the caption. So, I checked and she also posted on the Rangkat saree which she wore from my last collection and which was produced by Amrish Kushwaha. We gave credit. We don't hide. Nobody has approached me from these two parties, and I am not expecting them to simply because I don't want to talk to them directly. Whatever I have seen, I have put it on social media, and it was not wrong information.

It was the right information because I do my investigation and only then do I put it out. I know my responsibility. They know they have done something wrong, and so they have changed their post.

Just for the record. How much would the Saeed Ur Rehman saree cost? And what might have been the cost of the Malhotra saree?
Asif Shaikh: This saree, when we started, it was roughly ₹100,000; now it is 1.5–2 depending on labour and how much zari costs because everyday gold and silver rates are going up.

You asked me that very few weavers are left. Yes, you know the handloom sector is dying because most have started using powerloom. Nobody cares whether it is handloom or powerloom. People are buying a label, people are not buying a craft. That is the problem in our country.

There is a lack of awareness and we, at CDS, are trying to make the consumer more aware on why it is important to support our handloom sector. So, yes, very few artisans are left because most of them have started using powerlooms since there are very few buyers who want to spend on an artisan-made product. They don’t mind spending any amount for a machine-made product. Now when you go to Banaras, every lane has khat-khat-khat noises because everywhere there are powerlooms. Mass production is happening, and you know the biggest saree supplier in Banaras who is the president of the Banaras handloom industry, had copied my catalogue ‘Resurgence, Revival of Indian Embroidery’ where I had put all my embroidered motifs in much the same way like Saeed bhai had. I had designed the catalogue in 2013 and this Shanti Saree, which has a ₹400 crore turnover, copied my book cover, made sarees with digital printing and was selling in Banaras!

So, in all these designers’ posts what I realised is that they are talking the same language because they don’t go into a detailed study of the textile, or the zari, or anything. They just ask somebody and then they will give them some timeline could be six months and then parrot — it took 3 months or 6 months, the zari is 99 touch, 98 touch silver with 6.5 gram gold or this many gram gold, it is all fake. Who goes and checks the zari?  This Rangkat saree was made with 6.5 gram gold zari. That is for sure.

I know that because we make zari in Banaras with a master. So, most of the designers’ posts are not a proper detailed study of the craft or raw material of the textile weaving or anything. They just want to see the look of the particular product. The consumer also does not know anything and whatever the designer says they will blindly follow without understanding whether they are wearing machine made or hand made. You know in the olden days the weaver used to guide the consumer. Now, everybody is lying because they want to sell and sell and make money. But our ideology is totally different.