India has been blessed with a vibrant and rich history of art and craft. In this era of modernisation, Salma Bano, a lady from Farukhabad, Uttar Pradesh chose to keep the traditional art alive through the art she inherited from her mother.
Salma's abbu (father) and her grandfather were into designing blocks of Sheesham wood for block printing. Salma says she has grown with art among artists, learned the art of sewing, knitting, and weaving from her mother, who always wanted to start something of her own for taking forward the art of embroidery.
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How did it start?
Salma Bano took the responsibility of her mother's dream and started creating her own designs while she was a young teenager. Salma recalled that her first work of embroidery was on a bedsheet in the year of 1995. Her brother Sunny noticed and appreciated her work and asked her to make a particular customised design, which turned out to be her second embroidery piece.
Gradually over the period of time, Salma kept refining her art and her designs. She mentions that art is a blessing from Allah and like daily prayers, it needs to be practiced everyday.
In 1998, Salma took a loan of Rs 15,000 to start her own venture as an entrepreneur. She started all by herself with just a few t-shirts, colorful threads, needles of different sizes, and a sewing machine. On being asked how being a woman she managed to gather the courage to start her own venture, she said, “I wanted to show the world what art my hands hold and keep the culture and tradition of India alive, I do what I know with all my heart.”
