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Anjana Chandramouly

There's no big brand name attached to her creations, but to many, Mohiniyattam exponent Gopika Varma's textile unit is a source of support and strength.

At first glance, she comes across every bit the dancer you've known her to be — gracious, expressive and artistic. But it's only when you start talking to Gopika Varma that you realise there is much more to this Mohiniyattam exponent than meets the eye. A member of the royal family of the erstwhile State of Travancore, she is a very down-to-earth person and believes she has to give something back to society. She not only supports about 45 families through the modest textile unit that she runs, but also trains differently-abled children in her unit. Her textile unit comprises a block-printing unit and a boutique.

Her entry into designing, was more out of an interest to do something constructive and spend her time more meaningful, when she had to discontinue her dancing due to health reasons. Encouraged by family and friends, she started her textile unit, aptly called Gopika's Royal Touch, about 10 years ago, inside the vast premises of Ramalayam, the family's palace in Chennai. Her frequent travel across the country helps her in her purpose. "I travel at least 10 days in a month. I make it a point to visit local weavers in each town or city that I visit and handpick the best from every weaver. And I also see to it that I buy from the weavers directly. I avoid buying from retailers and involving middlemen, so that the weavers enjoy the benefits completely," she says.

The block-printing unit has a master printer, Venkatesh, who has been with her for the past three years. "We make at least 15 saris a day. We sell the finished products through our boutique and also supply to other retail outlets all over South India," he says. There are two assistants in the unit and one of them, Dakshinamoorthy, a speech-and-hearing impaired person, has been trained here. Till date, about 14 hearing-and-speech impaired children have been trained here and successfully placed in other textile units.

"It's only recently that I started working with differently-abled children. Currently, six children with Down's Syndrome train under me," says Gopika. "I am on the Advisory Board of the Ability Foundation, Chennai. They send these children to me. Here, we train parents also — mothers who accompany their children, so that they can pitch in with their children in future, once they start their own printing unit," she adds.

And the children, as we saw during our visit, love to come here. "We feel such training helps improve the children's hand-eye co-ordination and the power of concentration. And our children like coming here," says Padmini, mother of Anit, an 18-year-old suffering from Down's Syndrome, who undergoes training here.

The other part of her textile unit, the boutique, is as simple and devoid of artificiality as its owner. No closed, glass-panelled racks, or extra frills or display tables, or, even proper lightings. But the place radiates warmth. "My boutique is like any other retail outlet in what it sells... The only difference is that I don't believe in big advertisements. And I don't sell my wares through a brand name. All these years, I have catered to my clients only through word of mouth. And my clientele does not include the who's who in the city, but ordinary people, and they keep coming back," she says.

Gopika has justifiable pride in the fact that her unit provides a livelihood to all those employed in it. "It is for this reason I prefer to devote a lot of time ... between 10.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m., everyday, to this unit. It's a big responsibility and I am very happy and satisfied with what I am doing here."

So, how does she balance her time between her dance commitments, her textile unit and family?

"It's very simple and, in fact, has become a routine for me. I practise for three hours every day. Most of the day is spent at the unit. And I also spend a couple of hours at my dance school, Dasya, which has about 15 students. But my evenings are definitely meant for my family, especially my son. And I don't think I can fit in any thing else in my schedule. And I like it the way it is," she says.

Well, how has she found the going, all along? "To climb from one step to another is very difficult; it needs a lot of hard work and perseverance," she says with a smile that exudes confidence and satisfaction, a satisfaction that can be achieved only through sheer hard work.

Pictures by Bijoy Ghosh

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