Braiding the thread of love: Handmade Rakhis are the new craze among patrons & artisans alike

Apart from jewellers, artisans and designers across various states are  applying the traditional skills like weaving, carving, quilling and painting to create the inviting range of handmade Rakhis ahead of Rakshabandhan.

Handcrafted rakhis are going to create a fashion statement this Monsoon as artisan over the country are using various traditional crafts to make the threads of love after having endured a long 18 months spell of stagnated sale.

As the festival is around the corner, many home based enterprises, artisans and artists who were engaged in making masks, bags, paintings & jewelleries are taking up the task of making Rakhis and supplying them to online platforms with the hope to get the worth of their  labour.

Sikki grass painted and woven rakhis from Bihar are the most sought after ones due to their unique designs, vivid colour and eco friendly nature. Artist Chamdra Kumar Thakur from Madhubani is one of the few artisans who meticulously craft these rakhis along with many other products like baskets, diaries, wall hangings and many other utility as well as decorative products.

Bead jewellery artist, Afsansa from Uttar Pradesh’s Salai, has been creating  rakhis, using raw material from Delhi’s Kinari bazaar, Dariba and Sadar Bazaar. The uniqueness of  these rakhis lies in their ornamental value which is the result of willful labour.

Belonging to a family of traditional wood carvers Wood, carving artist Neeraj Bondwal from Haryana’s Bahardurgarh learnt the art from his father, Now he has been working from home since last year, making rakhis since June.He procures wood from the local market and is using it in innovative ways to create organic rakhis ahead of the festival.