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The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel's collection of sarees just got richer on Tuesday with a diaphanous silk saree gifted by a silk weaver couple from Karnataka here.
The couple in their early 70s, Gurum Narayanappa and his wife Kamalamma travelled all the way from Sunkadakatte near Bengaluru to the Capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar just to gift a 6.5-metre Karnataka silk saree that weighed about one fourth of the normal saree. The saree, weighing about 200 grams was prepared with extensive manual labour of 20-25 days and estimated to cost anywhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 in the market.
"The Chief Minister expressed pleasure to receive this unique gift and appreciated Narayanappa's art and his efforts," said a statement from the Chief Minister's office.
Notably, the couple also showcased a 25-gram silk saree that fit in a match-box. "The Chief Minister was surprised to see a 6.5 metre silk saree coming out from a match-box. She congratulated the couple for their art and encouraged them to showcase their art to the people of Gujarat," said Himanjal Palival, state organisation secretary, Samskrita Bharati, who assisted the couple during their meeting with the Chief Minister.
The language barrier for the couple, who interacted only in Kannada, necessitated a local support.
"The couple is not with affluent background. They can't afford to offer a pricey gift to any individual. But to get their art recognised, they decided to offer this gift to the Chief Minister. They also sought a permission to gift a similar saree to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother, Hiraba. But the appointment has not been granted so far," Palival told BusinessLine.
Interestingly, the artisan couple from Karnataka has several feathers to their hat. Their hand-made diaphanous silk saree has also found a place in the wardrobe of US first lady Michelle Obama, whom they had gifted a silk saree weighing just 70 grams along with a 30-gram silk scarf for the US President Barack Obama during their India visit in 2010.
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