Handwoven Uniform Sarees, delighted Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shared an image of a special Handwoven Uniform Sarees on Twitter which was given to him as a gift during the Padma award ceremony. PM Modi said that Padma awardee Biren Kumar Basak, a reputed weaver from Nadia, West Bengal gifted him a saree which he will ‘greatly cherish’.

The reputed Bengal weaver gifted the prime minister an off-white coloured Handwoven Uniform Sarees which had an image of the PM addressing the citizens, depicting the vast diversity of the country.

Touched by the special gift, PM Modi said the Padma awardee usually depicts different aspects of Indian history and culture in his sarees.

“Shri Biren Kumar Basak belongs to Nadia in West Bengal. He is a reputed weaver, who depicts different aspects of Indian history and culture in his Sarees. During the interaction with the Padma Awardees, he presented something to me which I greatly cherish,” PM Modi wrote a tweet.

Biren Kumar is among 119 individuals who have been conferred the Padma Awards this year. Of whom 102, including Basak, received the Padma Shri, while 10 and seven awardees received Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan respectively.

Basak started selling handwoven sarees in the 1970s with just Re 1. He used to sell sarees door-to-door in Kolkata. Now, his annual turnover stands at ₹25 crore, and 5,000 weavers work for him.

Basak’s handmade sarees are famous among several notable people including chief minister Mamata Banerjee, legendary singers lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle, BCCI president Saurav Ganguly among others.

Basak is also the recipient of the National Award for his skill and craftsmanship. He also has an honorary doctorate from UK-based World Record University for depicting the Ramayana on a handloom woven saree. Read more such stories on our blog or visit our store.