E-Paper
Varanasi craftswomen send wooden Rakhi to PM Modi and jawans in Galwan valley
Varanasi is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency.
A group of Varanasi craftswomen have sent hand-made wooden Rakhis to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Army soldiers deployed in Galwan Valley near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in eastern Ladakh. The Rakhis made by the women of the PM’s parliamentary constituency have been sent through his parliamentary office in the city.
Craftswomen including Shalini, Vandana, Rita, Pushpa, Sita along with craftsmen Virendra, Rajkumar and Rameshwar Singh reached the parliamentary office and submitted the Rakhi packets to parliamentary office in-charge Shiv Sharan Pathak. The office in-charge accepted the Rakhis and assured them that it would be sent today (Tuesday) only.
Geographical indication (GI) expert Padma Shri Rajnikant, who helped the women make the wooden Rakhis, said that they started making them around a week back.
Besides the Rakhis, the women also sent an accompanying letter to the Prime Minister requesting him to tie one wooden Rakhi on his wrist and to ensure that others being sent for the jawans in Galwan Valley reach them.
The letter also acknowledges that the wooden Rakhis are a product of a GI initiative to promote wooden craft in Kashi.
“With your blessings and taking inspiration from Atma Nirbhar Bharat, we decided to make Rakhis for the first time under Kashi’s GI registered craft ‘Wooden Lacquerware and Toys’ in which Rameshwar Singh (state awarded craftsman) provided much support. On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, we are sending these Rakhis to the brave soldiers in the Galwan Valley,” says the letter.
The craftswomen claim that around 50,000 pieces of handmade wooden Rakhis of Varanasi’s GI craft have been prepared and supplied giving employment to many women craftsmen during these times of the pandemic.
