House of Taamara- reflecting the love for handcrafted sarees
Sister-in-law duo Madhavi Rongala and Jyothsna Rongala started the House of Taamara a year ago to fulfil their long time desire to start something together in retail. They felt that the big stores in the cities didn’t house enough handloom collections and the only place you could perhaps grab a hand-woven saree is at an exhibition. This prompted them to start the House of Taamara, which curates a selection of hand woven, hand crafted sarees across the country.
The idea was on hold as both Madhavi and Jyothsna had two young kids to take care of. Madhavi is an MBA in finance and has worked in the financial market in USA. And Jyothsna is a trained CA. Both of them had no experience in retail, except for the fact that Jyothsna ran a household saree business and Madhavi for a while ran a small design store.
The store is located in the heart of Indiranagar, in Bangalore, in a spacious bungalow. As you enter the place you are taken into to a world of colourful earthy textures of drapes all around. The collection includes Ikat cottons and silks, Tussar, Kalamkari, Mangalgiris, Gadwals, Benarasi, Muslins, Kanchivaram cottons, Pure Zaari pattu sarees, Bengal cottons, khad’s and Kasavu cotton to name a few.
The founders aim to provide a platform to various artisans around the country to showcase their creativity and in turn also promote fair trade. Talking about the importance of promoting handloom Madhavi says,
”I think we live in a world of large chains and corporate entities and powerlooms, and I feel handlooms and small stores like us is going to be around for individual creativity and there is an eco system for all of us.”
They also believe that sarees are a great equalizer and helps to bridge the gap between the urban and rural divide and hope more and more women start wearing sarees.
House of Taamara also works with a number of designers from other cities who come and do pop up shows at the store for a couple of days. The founders believe that it is a win-win situation for both and helps reach out to a larger audience.
Video credits:
Camera person: Rukmangada Raja
Video editor: Anjali Achal