Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram, patit paawan sita ram-
We all are familiar with the fondness of Gandhi ji to this holy song and is regularly featured in Gandhiji’s prayer meetings, sometimes called Ram Dhun. Gandhi Ji also expressed his fondness and faith in Shri Ram with his wish to adorn the idols of Ram Lala, Lakshman and Mata Janaki in khadi clothes of the Ayodhya temple when he visited Ayodhya during the time of freedom of struggle.
Recently we all indians have experienced this proud moment when the wish of Gandhi ji came true by the initiative of notable fashion designer Manish Tripathi, who created a khadi silk wardrobe in collaboration with The Odra Foundation and Uttar Pradesh Khadi & Village Industries Board, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh.
On the occasion of this basant Panchami, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath unveiled and presented Shri Ram Lala’s wardrobe in exclusive Khadi Silk at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. To spearhead the dream project of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of making India a self- reliant under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and reviving the small scale cottage industries and presenting them to the world in a mainstream business sector. To lead this great initiative from the forefront , the Hon’ble Prime Minister gave the mantra of ‘Khadi for Nation, Khadi for fashion’ and this endeavor of the UP government and Manish aligns with Modiji’s vision. Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath has made earnest efforts in promoting the Khadi industry.“
This mantra resonated with the designer Manish Tripathi at totally different level and conceived this idea of designing wardrobe for Shri Ram and presented a successful example of threading Indian sentiments with the aspiring vision. During the lockdown, he launched the initiative ‘Sheher Se Gaon Tak’ to create employment opportunities in the rural areas using sustainable practice with giving them a social identity. His team trained more than 7000 women in different parts of the country. He created an assembly between villages across UP and other states under ‘Sisterhood of Travelling Shirt’ campaign. In this campaign, different villages collaborated by making different part s of a shirt like collar by one village, the cuffs by the other, and someone else did the shirt. The idea was to making thes women, masters of their trade and produce high quality products with precision. And later connecting them with the mainstream businesses with the help of branding.
About the collection
Shri Ram Lala’s wardrobe is designed as per the colors associated with each day of the week, derived respective planet and its dedication to a deity in the Hindu mythology. The collection is created in exclusive Khadi Silk by women artisans and lays special emphasis on rendering an authentic recognition to Khadi Fabric.
With this, the long lasting wish of Gandhi ji finally came true by giving a light to his vision of making India , a self-reliant country especially empowering the villages of our country.
