Natural dyed, handspun Eri silk shawl by dyers and weavers of Assam and Nagaland

Keri is double-sided. She is a bunch of moods like a bunch of flowers. She is raw mango and its potential to ripen.

Side 1 is created with Eri Silk that is naturally dyed using lac, sappanwood, turmeric and indigo. It is handspun and woven on backstrap loom in the rural settings of Nagaland. The weaving technique of Keri, (like the shawl Turkiyana) was a comedy of design. Typically, weavers from Nagaland like to weave tight and stiff on back strap looms to ensure sturdy textiles that would last a long time. I had a design in mind where I wanted the textures of back strap loom weaving to appear as soft, loose nature of weaving to create more fluidity in the textile. I was called “stupid” for wanting a loose weave. Who wants a weave like that? Very bad design!

We laughed and laughed because we couldn’t convince each other of our individual logic. Then, at last, I said, “Please weave my mistaken idea. I would really like my mistake to be woven. I am accountable if it goes bad.”

Keri is a result of my mistaken design. They wove exactly the mistake I wanted to be woven. They still don’t like it. They still find it absurd. But they are also pleasantly surprised that I love it. They had a good laugh and called me “designer”. Now, whenever I want them to weave this kind of texture, we address it as“that designer one”.

Side 2 is Eri Silk which is naturally dyed using turmeric and indigo. It is handspun and woven on a throw shuttle loom in the rural settings of Assam. Eri Silk project villages border Meghalaya which is home to the most colour-fast organic turmeric. We use this turmeric to dye our textiles which can vary from the lightest hue of yellow to a deep mustard.

About these collaborative designs

Eri silk yarn was carried from Kamrup district, Assam, to the remote regions of Nagaland. During the pandemic lockdown, this project of weaving hand-spun Eri Silk on back strap looms was conceived as a livelihood opportunity while also creating a training module to weave a texture of yarn new to the local weavers. The diversity of textures it brought out was a technical breakthrough for us.

Keri’s central panels of the back strap loom are hand stitched using traditional joineries of spear motif, a typical feature of back strap loom textiles used to extend the width.

Keri is a one-of-a-kind textile designed to highlight a unique coming together of various techniques and creativity of handcraft. This design will not be recreated.