Spinning magic with threads

For Amitha Raghu, hobby is a way of life. It is also a gateway to happiness and something that brings out her creative side and helps her socialise with like-minded people.

“A hobby reduces our negativity and stress and increases our confidence. It also gives a boost to our personality,” she says.

Amitha enjoys doing intricate sari kuchu tassel work. She started this unique hobby in 2009 and since then, there has been no looking back.

“We need to make time for what we truly like to do,” she says. “Sari kuchu is an ancient art form that adds an ethnic, artistic and dazzling look to silk saris. I learnt this unique hobby about six years ago from my mother out of curiosity. However, I never thought it would become such an integral part of my life. Today, it has enriched my personality and from a homemaker, I have now become an entrepreneur.”

Ask her how she started the hobby and she recalls that she would often do tassel work on wedding saris of her friends and relatives using a unique combination of designs and colours. Impressed with her work, everyone encouraged her to become a full-time tassel designer.

“Based on the demand and seeing the potential of this art work, I have groomed like-minded women and worked on more than 400 silk saris and created over 60 unique designs. Apart from that, I have trained more than 50 people through various workshops in the last six months,” she says.

The unique colour combinations and the variety of designs she creates make her works stand out.

She is grateful to her friends and family who have motivated and encouraged her. “My family, especially my husband, has been very cooperative in helping me nurture my dream — he is an unbiased critic.”

Apart from sari kuchu tassel work, some of her other interests are paper quilling art, making silk thread bangles, terracotta jewellery, tatting and organic farming. “Sari kuchu work has given me more than what I could ask for in terms of creativity and confidence. Since I can work from home and balance my family life, it gives me great career satisfaction too,” she notes.