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Eye-catching embroidery
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Delicate craftsmanship is Aavaranaa's hallmark
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A WORKER sits in a corner, working his deft fingers through a saree tightly wound around a frame. What emerges after a few minutes is a beautiful motif. This is not a scene straight out of an artisans' village or a weaver's colony. At Aavaranaa, a boutique that specialises in embroidery and cutwork, most embroidery work is done in-house.
Inside the workshop, which also houses a tailor, a girl is working on a piece of cloth. Even as you watch, beautiful cutwork patterns emerge.
The store stocks a wealth of value-added silks, chiffons and cotton. Even the famous Mangalagiri cottons, whose familiar patterns can get boring even for those who love its comfort, sport a new look with hued block prints. Tussar, raw silk and crepe have also been embellished with embroidery, block prints and kalamkari work from Kalahasti.
If shopping in a hurry is your cup of tea, this shop will help you unlearn your shopping rules. Tucked inside a non-descript lane and on the sprawling lawns of a spacious bungalow, its interiors are warm and inviting. Gowri Ananthakrishnan, who runs the store, says the location has its advantages and disadvantages. "People love the privacy that the store offers by virtue of its being inside a house. On the other hand, because this is an upmarket locality, many are hesitant to visit the boutique, thinking most fabrics will be beyond their reach."
Pieces that catch your eye include a plain electric blue Kancheepuram saree on which 200 motifs have been painstakingly embroidered. Priced at Rs. 4,350, it comes with an attached blouse. Since they stock a range of colours, customers can choose and decide what kind of embellishment they want. Gowri and her wannabe fashion designer-daughter Surya conceptualise the designs. Gowri also sources traditional cotton sarees from Kerala and Venkatagiri (Andhra Pradesh) and sends them to Bangalore for block printing. The result is worth wearing. Also available are salwar-kameez sets in tussar and chiffon and vegetable-dyed fabrics, which are worked on by artisans from Jaipur.
To help visitors make a choice, Gowri, who has an eclectic collection of embroidered sarees, stocks sample pieces in the store. "That is more to let them know what is possible with the material they buy," says Gowri.
Aavaranaa's blouses look rich and exclusive - which is what customers pay for.
Ask Gowri and Surya how receptive people are to experimenting on traditional silk and they say the trend is changing. "People now buy silk sarees for Rs. 10,000 and pay more than half that amount for embroidery and the works."
You can also choose from Kancheepuram dupattas and designer batik sets. Contact the store at 0422 - 5603113.
SUBHA J RAO
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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