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Preserving Tradition
The Handloom Legacy of Sri Lakshmi Narashima Perumal Silks

Mr. Pradeep, founder of Sri Lakshmi Narashima Perumal Silks in Tamil Nadu, comes from a lineage deeply rooted in handloom tradition. Their silk production, void of automated machines, showcases a profound dedication to handloom weaving. With their own silkworm farm and support for struggling cocoon farmers, they epitomize commitment to the craft.

Pradeep attributes this legacy to his grandfather, Sri. Govindaraj, a centenarian master weaver whose teachings ignited Pradeep’s passion for handloom. Despite market challenges, Pradeep remained steadfast, refusing to abandon tradition for profit. Instead, he expanded his handloom business, now comprising 60 units in South India.

Pradeep’s resilience in the face of adversity and commitment to quality over profit reflect his ethos. He acknowledges his wife’s unwavering support as instrumental to his journey.

In a world where handlooms face obsolescence, Pradeep’s example highlights the potential for entrepreneurship to preserve tradition. As the Master Weaver once said, “Believe! Weaving is a part of life like cooking”.

Ramesh
Mastering the Art of Paithani Saree Weaving

Preserving Tradition, Weaving Elegance: The Journey of Ramesh, Master Weaver

In the heart of India, amidst the vibrant tapestry of culture and tradition, resides Ramesh, a master weaver dedicated to the timeless art of Paithani saree weaving. With a legacy steeped in heritage and a passion for craftsmanship, Ramesh’s journey is a testament to the resilience of traditional art forms in the face of modernity.

A Legacy of Craftsmanship

Ramesh’s love affair with weaving began at an early age, under the tutelage of his ancestors who passed down the intricate techniques of Paithani saree making. From learning to thread the loom to mastering the delicate art of designing, Ramesh honed his skills with dedication and reverence for tradition.

Innovation Meets Tradition

In a world where tradition often meets innovation, Ramesh found a delicate balance between the two. While staying true to the timeless techniques of Paithani weaving, he embraced modern trends and preferences, incorporating new colors, designs, and motive into his sarees. From traditional bright hues to contemporary pastels, Ramesh’s sarees cater to a diverse clientele, both in India and abroad.

Recognition and Acclaim

Ramesh’s dedication and artistry have not gone unnoticed. His sarees have graced prestigious exhibitions and garnered accolades from national platforms, including a commendation from the Prime Minister himself. Such recognition not only validates Ramesh’s craftsmanship but also shines a spotlight on the rich cultural heritage of Paithani weaving.

A Vision for the Future

As Ramesh looks to the future, his vision remains steadfast: to continue weaving elegance, preserving tradition, and empowering communities. With each saree that leaves his loom, Ramesh carries forward a legacy centuries in the making, ensuring that the art of Paithani weaving continues to enchant and inspire generations to come.

Balrampur, Bilaspur, and Surguja practise sericulture. Tasar silkworm rearing is a long- standing tradition in the designated districts, particularly in tribal families. The entire family participates in various activities like collecting seed cocoons, preparing to lay, protecting worms, and finally harvesting and sales of cocoons.

Moreover, specific weaving clusters in central and north Chhattisgarh (such as Champa and Raigarh) have long been known for tasar silk manufacturing. They have a large number of reelers, spinners, and weavers. But the revenues from silkworm rearing, reeling, warping and weaving are frequently only used to cover the families’ basic consumption needs. This indicates the major challenges faced by them like migration of handloom workers to other professions, younger generation not being interested to take handloom as a profession, low productivity, lagging behind technology, low-income generation, inadequate production infrastructure, health problems, competition from organized power loom and mill sector, insufficient marketing infrastructure, lack of initiation in export, and lack of government support. This project is centred on yarn and fabric production operations, and it aims to provide a source of income for the artisans while also commercialising their creations. The functions are centred on manufacturing high-quality yarn. The cocoons produced by rearers will be stored in a cocoon bank, which will supply yarn producers with cocoons throughout the year and be combined with traditional fabric weavers. The end product yarn and fabrics are sold in the market through various market places under this project. A thorough market research was done to ensure manufacturing of commercial products, thus creating a brand value for Kosala as well as restoring the traditional heritage. This is fully integrated back-to-back to support the craftspersons. Earlier the existing product line for Kosala was limited to traditional sarees and stoles, however the project intervened by expanding the product line by including Tasar silk for products like home furnishings and accessories, office accessories, fashion accessories, contemporary fusion apparel. This was a major stride towards popularising the handloom. The Tasar silk was completely re-vamped by accentuating it with traditional paintings like Madhubani, and Warli, embroidery and resist dyeing techniques like shibori.

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Tisser

hand to heart

Presenting its first ever spring summer collection ‘Hindol Basant’ an exquisitely designed collection in Kosa Silk.

Innovative product lines like laptop sleeves,bags, face masks, fusion modern apparel, bookmarks, notebooks, home furnishings, frames, jewellery boxes etc. in bright unique colours were developed to appeal to the modern Indian consumers. Therefore, it can be said that the future looks prominent for Kosala. In fact, it has already achieved much success. Furthermore, the project is also looking to strengthen the B2B business as well, to develop a cocoon bank, to train potential reelers and to promote the use of traditional Kosa X Kosa fabric by the weavers. In addition, to keep the success going, the plan is to include more products, like contemporary apparel, office, home and lifestyle accessories, etc.

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A sustained revival of Tasar handlooms linked with commercialization is thus pivotal in community development of these weavers.

Success Story

Tisser

hand to heart

Kosala Tasar Silk: Triumph of Concerted Efforts

TIMELESS ARTISTRY

Dr. Megha Phansalkar

(Founder of Tisser Artisan Trust and
Authorised User of Silk Mark)

Tisser Artisan Trust is an entrepreneurial venture, functioning as a tool for social upliftment of rural clusters of India. Restoring the dignity of work by skilling women in rural clusters and providing them job opportunities.
Kosala Social and Livelihood Foundation, initiated by Hindalco and supported by Tisser Artisan Trust, is a social enterprise that acts as a bridge between the skilled Kosa silk artisans in the Chhattisgarh cluster and the market, providing contemporary designs interweaved with tradition. Hindalco Industries Limited is the metal flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group. Guided by its purpose of building a greener,stronger, smarter world, Hindalco provides innovative solutions for a sustainable planet.

Tisser Artisan Trust is a social enterprise that works to improve people’s lives in India’s rural areas. Under this trust, women in rural clusters are being retrained and given career possibilities, restoring the dignity of labour. The jobs thus created aim to revitalise handmade products inspired by India’s rich cultural heritage, with each art group across the country having its own unique offering.

Women and art are being promoted with significant steps of empowerment and exposure. The purpose of the Kosala project was to promote and expand Kosa silk-related sericulture and weaving activities in the cluster to support and improve the lifestyle of beneficiaries participating in Kosa silk-related industries in some form. This project strives to empower rural craftspeople in Chhatisgarh with sustainable livelihoods, income-generating possibilities, and access to professional support, as seen by its success. Tisser, as part of the project has built a broad market for the modern consumer and the rural artisan through professional training, creative models, and technical solutions. This was achieved through establishing a sustainable ecosystem and there by enhancing the socioeconomic status of the recipients. As part of the project, 200 recipients created works of art using Tasar fabric and products made from Tasar yarn. Currently, three types of silk are produced in Chhattisgarh: ‘Mulberry,’ ‘Tasar,’ and ‘Eri’ silk. Tribals in the historic districts of Baster, Raigarh.

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“पूर्वान्चल रत्न” श्री मोहम्मद शारिक का बनारसी सिल्क साड़ी के उत्थान के लिए प्रशंसनीय कार्य

साड़ी भारतीय नारी का सिर्फ पसंदीदा परिधान ही नहीं बल्कि जीवन का अटूट हिस्सा है। दुल्हन के साजो सामान में बनारसी साड़ी की खास भूमिका है। बनारसी साड़ी ने अपना सिक्का न सिर्फ भारतीय फैशन उद्योग बल्कि वैश्विक स्तर पर भी जमाया है । बनारसी परिधानों की प्रसिद्धि का श्रेय उसके बुनकरों को जाता है, जिन्होंने नित नए डिज़ाइन और नायाब कारीगरी से पूरे विश्व में बनारस को ख्याति दी है। ऐसे ही रचनात्मक बुनकरों में से एक हैं श्री मोहम्मद शारिक जिनकी कर्मठता से उनका व्यवसाय नई ऊँचाइओं तक पहुँचा है ।

श्री शारिक ने स्नातक की पढ़ाई काशी हिन्दू विश्वविद्यालय, वाराणसी से पूरी और साथ ही डिजिटल तकनीक में भी महारत हासिल की जिसका उपयोग वह अपने उत्पादों में बखूबी कर रहे हैं। अपने पिताश्री शमीम के द्वारा 30 वर्ष पूर्व शुरू किये बनारस वीवर्स शॉप के माध्यम से वह पैतृक व्यवसाय से जुड़े और अपनी कलात्मक सोच से उसमें नयी जान फूंक दी । श्री मोहम्मद शारिक, स्वयं भी एक हुनरमंद आर्टिसन हैं और उत्तर-प्रदेश पत्रकार परिषद द्वारा वर्ष 2019 में उन्हें “पूर्वान्चल रत्न” पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया गया है। इसके अलावा इन्हें “सुबहे बनारस ” एवं “शाने बनारस ” जैसे खिताबों से भी नवाजा जा चुका है। श्री शारिक सामाजिक उत्थान के लिए भी जागरूक हैं और अपने व्यवसाय में 50 से अधिक महिलाओं को भी रोजगार दे रखा है जिन्हें वो नियमित रूप से साड़ियों, दुपट्टों आदि में कढ़ाई एवं मीनाकारी संबंधी कार्य उपलब्ध कराते रहते हैं ताकि उनके जीवन स्तर में सुधार हो ।

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शुरूआती दिनों में इन्होंने अपने व्यवसाय को अशफ़ाक नगर, वाराणसी स्थित अपने आवास से आरंभ किया तथा उसे बढ़ा हुए मे.

अपने आवास से आरंभ किया तथा उसे बढ़ा हुए मे. बनारसी वीवर्स शॉप का एक आधुनिक शोरूम ” दीन दयाल हस्त कला शंकुल एवं ट्रेड फैसिलिटशन सेंटर ” वाराणसी में भी स्थापित किया। इसके अतिरिक्त इन्होंने अपने शोरूम की एक शाखा कोलकाता में खोल रखी है, जो अच्छा व्यवसाय कर रही है।
वे शीघ्र ही अपने व्यवसाय के विस्तार के लिए शोरूम तथा अपने फर्म का आधुनिक सुविधाओं से युक्त एक कार्यालय वाराणसी के बाबतपुर क्षेत्र में शुरू करने जा रहे हैं ।
श्री शारिक वर्ष 2019 से सिल्क मार्क संगठन से जुड़े हुए हैं तथा अपने उत्पादों में सिल्क मार्क टैग का नियमित उपयोग करते हैं जो इनके उत्पादों को विश्वसनीयता प्रदान करता है। उनका दृढ़ विश्वास है कि सही उत्पादों के द्वारा ग्राहकों का विश्वास अर्जित करना उनके व्यवसाय की प्रगति में सहायक है। सिल्क मार्क उनके इस प्रयत्न में मुख्य में भूमिका अदा कर रहा है ।

Interviewed by Shri Jitendra Kumar, STA, SMOI, RSTRS, CSTRI, CSB, Varanasi

Success Story

Hard Work, Smart Work!
THESE BROUGHT US SUCCESS...

Says T. Prabhu, Proprietor, M/s. Yugamugi Silk House, Coimbatore

This is the inspiring story of an Electrical Engineer turned Manufacturer of Silk Products, who trades with his own silk brand in India and abroad, after joining hands with the only authority of the Silk Industry in India; the global purity assurance stamp; the Silk Mark Organisation of India.
Manufacturing was a daydream for us when we started in the year 2015. We thought this was an inherited profession. Starting as traders, we selected quality manufacturers and began selling directly to customers with a basic marketing strategy.

Initially, finding the right manufacturers was a tough task. We were very strict about maintaining quality. When it came to silks, we found it even harder to identify between pure silks and the mixed/blended silks. Pricing was also another big challenge. We wanted to sell Pure Silk products at a very affordable price.
That’s when we thought of becoming a Manufacturer. Initially we encountered many hurdles as we did not inherit the profession. Very new to the field of textiles, we decided to start our New Brand YUGAMUGI as a SILK BRAND. So we started manufacturing Mulberry Silk Sarees and Tasar Silk Sarees, and traditional Pen Kalamkari work on silk. At that time, after enrolling us as an ‘Authorised User of the Silk Mark’, the Silk Mark Organisation of India, Central Silk Board gave us a much-needed training on Silk Yarn and Fabric selection, to assure the purity of silk. We began to receive national recognition for our brand, and our sales shot up exponentially, which gave us the confidence to proceed further on our silk journey.

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Going forward, we adhered to our ‘best raw material’ policy and also selected the right weavers to make traditional silk Sarees with an updated, trendy touch. We ourselves worked on the designs and provided more variety in both Mulberry Silks and Tasar Silks.

Now we have a partnership firm in West Bengal for manufacturing Tasar Silk Sarees, with a 2500- Saree manufacturing facility and over 1000 block print designs; a factory set up for Pen Kalamkari Silks in Sri Kalahasti; and more than 60 Handlooms in Tamil Nadu for Soft Silks. And we are still growing, with a number of Handlooms, employing around 120 handloom weavers and hand paint artists. From Hand Painting to Hand block Printing, Handloom Plain Silks to Heavy Bridal Weave Mulberry Silks… so many varieties are manufactured under Brand YUGAMUGI.
Now we are very proud to boast an annual 4- crore-rupee turnover, aided by Silk Mark and growing stronger with loyal customers who find our manufactured silk products irresistible. We are targeting a 10-crore-rupee turnover next financial year! We are further concentrating on the Export market with a MAKE IN INDIA label, and also planning to introduce a Dealership Format for Exclusive Silk Sarees.
Both hard work and smart work brought us to this enviable position. When you start doing something, be confident and work on it; success is the only result that you can expect. We are very grateful to Silk Mark Organisation of India – Palakkad Chapter – for their tremendous support in vigorously promoting pure silk products among
customers.

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Interviewed by Shri P. C. Johny, TA (R&S), SMOI, Palakkad

सिल्क मार्क लेबलः ग्राहकों की संतुष्टि का साधन
-श्री मितेश लखवानी, मेसर्स भारत सिल्क हाउस, वाराणसी

जब भी साड़ियों का जिक्र होता है तो सबसे पहले हर किसी के ख्याल में एक ही नाम आता है और वह है बनारसी साड़ी । जब भी सुहागिनों के सामान के बारे में बात होती हैं तो उसमें बनारसी साड़ी का अपना एक विशिष्ट स्थान होता है। इन बनारसी साड़ियों को रेशम के धागे से सुंदर साड़ियों में बदलने की कला यहाँ के हुनरमंद बुनकरों के हाथों में होती है जिसका वो भरपूर इस्तेमाल करते हैं तथा बनारसी साड़ी को उसका भव्य रूप प्रदान करते हैं ।

ऐसा ही बनारसी साड़ियों का एक अत्याधुनिक शोरूम “भारत सिल्क हाउस “, आध्यात्मिक नगरी वाराणसी के भेलूपुर क्षेत्र में स्थित हैं जिसका संचालन युवा उद्यमी श्री मितेश लखवानी करते । उक्त शोरूम में शुद्ध रेशमी साड़ियों के साथ-साथ सूती साड़ियाँ, सूट, दुपट्टा, रेडीमेड गार्मेंट्स, किड्स वियर आदि की भी बिक्री की जाती है। इन्ही में से एक मंझे हुए कारीगरों के बीच आज हम बात करेंगे मितेश लखवानी जी की ।
श्री मितेश लखवानी ने अपनी स्नातक की पढ़ाई काशी हिन्दू विश्व विद्यालय, वाराणसी से पूरी करने के पश्चात अपने

पिताश्री अशोक लखवानी जी के साथ बनारसी साड़ियों के व्यवसाय से जुड़ गये । श्री अशोक लखवानी जी सन् 1985 से ही बनारसी साड़ियों के व्यवसाय से जुड़े हुए हैं ।
श्री मितेश लखवानी जी ने अपने पारिवारिक व्यवसाय से जुडने के बाद इस व्यवसाय से जुड़ी अन्य बारीकियों के बारे में जाना तथा अपने व्यवसाय की उन्नति के लिए सिल्क मार्क से जुड़ने का विचार किया। इसके लिए इन्होंने सिल्क मार्क के विषय में ऑनलाइन जानकारी प्राप्त की तथा अपने शहर वाराणसी में स्थित भारतीय रेशम मार्क संगठन के कार्यालय में आकर सिल्क मार्क के संबंध में विस्तार से जानकारी प्राप्त की तथा अपनी फर्म भारत सिल्क हाउस का रजिस्ट्रेशन करवाया। सिल्क मार्क के उपयोग के बाद इन्होंने अपने ग्राहकों को भी सिल्क मार्क से जुड़े कई तथ्यों से रूबरू
करवाया ।
श्री मितेश जी के अनुसार सिल्क मार्क से जुड़नें तथा सिल्क मार्क लेबल का उपयोग करने से अब उनके ग्राहक भी निश्चिंत हो कर खरीदारी करते हैं तथा अपने आपको संतुष्ट पाते हैं। आने वाले दिनों में श्री मितेश जी द्वारा अपने व्यवसाय को और अधिक विस्तार देने के लिए एक और नए व अत्याधुनिक शोरूम को आरंभ करने की योजना बना रहे हैं ।

Interviewed by:
ShriJitender Kumar, STA, SMOI, Varanasi

Success Story of An Authorised User of Silk Mark

Shri Suresh Makwana, M/s Pooja Patola Sarees

Successful Scion of Rajkot, Gujrat.

* છેલાજીરે... મારેહાટુપાટણથીપટોળાંમોઘાંલાવજો "

"Chhelaji re mare hatupatanthi Patolamonghalavjo"

(O my dear! Do bring the precious Patola from Patan for me!)

This line is from one of the folk songs of Gujarat, in which the wife asks her husband to buy a Patola of Patan for her while returning. Patola is a sacred silkcloth. 

For them it is a belief that a Patola saree was a magic cloth, which protected them in battle, and against evil and bad health. The psychological motive behind the specific combination of colours and design of Patola is worth understanding. The square arouses the feeling of security, as women generally desire security in every part of life. The symbols of elephant, parrot, peacock, kalash(jug) and the people left are all considered to be auspicious symbols of saubhagya.
For many years or even centuries, Patan has been a place famous for weaving of Patola Sarees, but now one more gem has been added in the crown of Patola Sarees i.e. the Rajkot Patola. Patola sarees from Rajkot differ slightly from the Patola sarees of Patan in Northern Gujarat. This story is about a successful scion of Rajkot Patola sarees: Shri Suresh Makwana, Proprietor of M/s. Pooja Patola, Rajkot. Indeed, his ancestors were some of the very same weavers who were the reason for the ubiquitous spread of Patola weaving in Rajkot. Suresh Makwana’s father was a weaver of Khadi who was settled at Rajkot. But the income through Khadi weaving was not sufficient, so he had called a Patan Weaver to the weaver association Rashtriya Shala and configured the first handloom suitable for the weaving of Patola Sarees in 1956. He was thus trained in Patola Weaving and taught other weavers of the same community in Rajkot, and thus started the grooming of Patola weaving in Rajkot. 

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Patola through subsequent generations by transferring knowledge to their children. Slowly it has been spread to the nearby villages.
Suresh Makwana had grown up seeing Patola weaving all around him, so his passion for Patola sarees also grew inside him. He entered the family business in 1986. During the initial days he had no money to purchase raw silk yarn. With the help of his uncle he purchased raw silk from Bengaluru in order to weave just four Patola sarees. While visiting the area, a buyer from Jamnagar was impressed by his artistry and intrinsic designs, and Suresh was given an order for more sarees with similar designs. Since that first brush with destiny, Suresh’s business began to flourish.He established his own brand under the name of M/s. Pooja Patola in 2002. And it has grown by leaps and bounds; today he has 20 weavers working for him, as well as Designers and specialized masters for Dyeing.

The weaving process of Patolas is very precise and also time-consuming. The weaver should thus be a perfectionist and should also have great patience. In Patola sarees, the Warp and Weft yarns are Tied and Dyed and then woven into the Saree. Thus the interlacement of Warp and Weft needs to be very precise; only then will perfect designs appear on the saree. Otherwise the clarity of the figure on the Saree is affected, which in turn affects the value of the saree.

Suresh Makwana is ably supported by his son, who as an MCA graduate assists him in taking his business to the international level by taking it online. Now, he does business with clients across 25 countries while sitting at home! His business turnover is around 60-70 lakhs.
Shri Suresh Makwanahas been a Silk Mark Member since 2016, and he professes that Silk Mark helps him by offering ample business opportunities. According to him, the Silk Mark tags on his products give them an edge over other products for purity of silk. He is a regular exhibitor at Silk Mark Expos, and has the distinction of never having sold a single product without Silk Mark tags. Silk Mark Expo, he says, is the platform on which traditional weavers and artisans can showcase their skills and caliber to clients, and thereby grow their businesses.
He believes that painstaking quality in each and every process will inevitably lead to quality output. He is relentlessly focused on quality while selecting silk yarn, and through the dyeing and weaving processes. He firmly believes this is the secret of his considerable success.

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Shri Suresh Makwana has been instrumental in the achievement of GI (Geographical Identification)for Rajkot Patola Sarees. He proudly says that it is an achievement for the unity of Rajkot Weavers and the efforts of Rajkot Weaver’s Association.
His brand has also recently been felicitated at the “International Product & Service Awards (IPSA) 2019” as the Leading Patola Saree Manufacturing Firm of the Year, accepting the award from Bollywood actress Smt. Juhi Chawla in Mumbai. In 2017, M/s. Pooja Patola was also a Winner of India’s 5000 Best MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Award. Shri Suresh Makwana has submitted his Patola Saree design sample to DC Handloom, Ministry of Textiles, to be considered for the National Award for Creativity and Handloom Product. He has also applied for Indian Handloom Brand (IHB) registration to the Weavers’ Service Centre and hopes to receive registration. His success story will certainly be an inspiration for young Indian entrepreneurs.

Interviewed by: Shri Ganeshkumar M., Inspector (Silk), RO, CSB/SMOI, Mumbai.

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