Sustainable life, the new style

India is a country with a rich cultural history. She has seen and experienced thousands of years of different civilizations and empires. She has absorbed many influences in the course of her long journey. Crowned by the Himalayas in the north and draped by the coastline in the south, accessorised by green cover in the east and white desert in the west, India is home to one of the most complex yet beautiful and rich geographical features. India, being a tropical country, has been endowed with a rich variety of natural resources. A large number of natural fibres are found in India. A few popular names include cotton, jute, banana fibre, Madurkathi, palm leaf, Sitalpati and grass like Sabai and Kauna.

NATURAL FIBERS IN INDIA
Fibres can be extracted from the roots, stem or shoot, bark, fruits and leaves of plants. The natural fibres commonly have the same shades of colours ranging from shiny white to golden brown. They share the colour and texture of the earth and have a sense of natural warmth to them. Their beauty lies in their asymmetry and rawness. India is the second largest producer of fibres. Fibres like jute, hemp, banana and bamboo are extracted from the stem, where as cotton and coir from the fruits.

Cotton, termed as ‘the king of fibres’ has been a part of Indian population since time immemorial. The first evidence of cotton use was in the Indian subcontinent. The archaeological surveys and studies have found that the people of Harappa knew weaving and the spinning of cotton four thousand years ago. Reference to weaving and spinning materials is also found in the Literature. Jute, the golden fibre, also finds its origin to India. It is one of the oldest raw materials used. It is known for its lustrous nature and softness. Banana bark and Banana fibres have been used for decades as raw materials for the production of traditional handicrafts. India, being the largest banana producing country in the world, gives us the advantage of its availability throughout the year. Kauna is a kind of reed which is found in abundance in the wet marshlands of Manipur. Madhurkathi are woven in West Bengal from a reed called madur kottir or Madhurkathi. Sitalpati is made from cane or from murta plants which grows around water bodies. Sabai grass, mostly found in Odisha, has created a miracle in the economic life of its tribal population.