ABOUT THE DESIGNER:
VISALAKSHI RAMASWAMY
Visalakshi Ramaswamy, the founder of the M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation is an enthusiast of craft and culture and has been an active advocate of craft development for many years.
Visalakshi Ramaswamy has documented the craft and heritage of the Chettiar community along with S. Muthiah and Meenakshi Meyyappan in the book ‘The Chettiar Heritage’. She realized that several old and traditional houses were rapidly coming down, and several crafts of the region were disappearing. It seemed vital to document everything while there was still access to information.
The M.Rm.Rm Cultural Foundation was set up in 2000 with the primary objective of documenting, preserving and reviving the many crafts of the region. Project Kottan was one of the first initiatives of the Foundation, and she has spent many years collecting, researching, resurrecting and reinventing the humble Kottan, or the traditional palm leaf baskets of Chettinad.
Ms. Ramaswamy is passionate about the textile traditions of India and has been working for many years to revive the handloom weaving traditions of Tamil Nadu. Her line of traditional Chettinad silk and cotton sarees that have many admirers in India and abroad.
Ms. Ramaswamy is now in the process of documenting the Kandanghi sari of Chettinad. She has also authored the book The Kottan, The Palmyra Basket of Chettinad, documenting the basketry tradition of the Chettiar community.
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Ms. Ramaswamy is an Executive Committee member of the Craft Council of India, and is very much involved in its projects. She also works with the World Crafts Council in projects to promote and encourage craft education in schools. She is a member of the All India Handicrafts Board of the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, and on the advisory committee of DakshinaChitra, working with them on several of their initiatives.
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Ms. Ramaswamy’s zest, enthusiasm and deep passion has sustained her work in the craft sector. Her vision and forethought has helped her maintain a balance between the ideal and the practical, and this has been the key to the achievement of her goals.
