“It all started with my father’s creativity. He weaved the Indian national flag that was 112 metres long. Back then, it was a record and it was presented at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. Perhaps, he was the first person to weave a saree that could fit in a match box in the year 1987. He presented a hand woven (not stitched) kurta-pyjama to the late Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s husband. My father passed away about 10 years ago and since then everything took a backseat. I was handling traditional handloom when I was 20-years-old. I knew weaving sarees was my true calling! I got back to the art form to keep up to the standard my father had left behind. For me, he’ll always be a hero and I only try to be as good as him, if not better. I weaved silk sarees that could fit into a matchbox and displayed it at the World Telugu Conference 2012 held in Tirupati. One of my other sarees made with super fine silk was presented as a gift to former US president Barack Obama’s wife Michelle Obama when the couple had visited India as chief guests for the 66th Republic Day Celebrations. All this gives a lot of fame and awards, but there are no rewards. Neither did my father get any nor did I. Recognition feels great, but I hope all this gives me some profit in monetary terms. That’ll inspire more people to take up such creative fields, and not be held back due to the lack of money.”

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