Introduction

This is an initial introductory blog. It’s a little story about how Shree – The Touch of India was born. Reema Debnath, now the proprietor of Maa – The Touch of India, has always had a passion to start something on her own even if it was small. In one such conversation, she expressed that there are places in remote parts of West Bengal where her mother used to go and buy beautiful sarees directly from artisans who hand-made these sarees. Her mother would typically get Jamdani sarees to gift her friends and relatives during festivals and special occasions. Now if you are a Bengali or otherwise, or more so, if you are a connoisseur of sarees, you probably know the crisp and elegant tapestry of Jamdani weaves when you wrap it around you in elegance and some pride. That fresh cotton feel, yet so simple, yet so sophisticated that may kindle your passion and take you to the top of the world and make you the center of attraction on any day, be it just another day, or your special day.

Reema expressed that it will be her dream if she can start a small business that will serve the artisans, whose crafts are typically unsung and unknown in big cities, where she can take these products and introduce them across oceans to folks who may have not known or heard about these, but whose eyes will brighten and whose hearts will flutter upon beholding such elegant artisan made creations. Then she could come back and help such artisans to keep their crafts alive and help their struggling families to make ends meet in a small humble way. This was and is her vision and this was how Shree-The Touch of India came to life. A simple but noble vision which could blossom into a journey of bringing artisan created products to people who will appreciate and own them.  

Energized by this vision and yet with very little resources, Reema ventured into a journey to several remote places and procured a small sample collection of different sarees including Kanchipuram, Paithani, Kantha Stitch, Baluchary, Bangalore Silk, Tussar Silk, and so on. Herself, being a connoisseur with elegant taste, she came up with a mesmerizing, curated sample collection for Shree.

Shree’s first showcase was on a small table-top in the beautiful Sri. Rama Temple in Chicago. It had a divine aura for a humble and beautiful start. Visitors saw, felt, admired, as well as purchased the initial sample collection of sarees. The next stop was a small table again in a spiritual fair Conscious Life Expo in California, which gave a chance to introduce Shree to a larger diverse audience. A few other types of products were also added to the collection supplied by Maa – The Touch of India, including temple jewelry, Rajasthani Rajwari and so on. A website was later developed https://shreethetouchofindia.com where you will find beautiful collections of hand made products which were supplied by MAA – The Touch of India. Now as the MAA website https://www.maathetouchofinda.com is going live, we hope to have a synergy of products with MAA primarily hosting it in India while Shree reaches out beyond. Further blogs will cover more details of the journey. In the meantime, we invite you to visit both online stores and we hope you will find collections which you can buy and wear, hence supporting this just-starting extremely small business as well as artisans who bring these elegant creations to life.

Starting from very humble roots, with extremely limited resources, both startups continue to face challenges as we try to tide over them and learn every day. Your support in spreading the word will greatly help with the product outreach. We do look forward to your suggestions, good wishes and blessings to brighten our journey ahead. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Shree – The Touch of India