Designer and textile expert Nayanmani Baruah has done it the hard way, right from working for buying houses and export houses in Delhi, to setting up her own production house in Guwahati, to exporting her products to various countries across the world.

Shes been there, going from one garment manufacturing unit to the next in Delhi, learning the all-important business of quality control in exports. Having spent nearly 10 years learning the job, and with a course in fashion designing in Delhi under her belt, Nayanmani returned to Guwahati to gradually get into the attire business here. “I was inspired by designers such as Ritu Beri as a child,” she says.

Having scripted her a success story in terms of showcasing Assamese products to the world and carving out a niche for herself in the international market, the backbone to her business remains, as she says in an exclusive interview to Newsfile, the fact that she now has 150 weavers working for her production house, which means she keeps going 150 families, based on an age-old skill that would have otherwise slowly died out.  “It took courage for them to leave their homes setting aside all household chores to come do what they do best,” Nayanmani tells Newsfile.

The future of her industry here, however difficult, is bright she says. “There was a time when we were only a handful of designers representing our state. Today there are quite a few of us and Assamese silks and attire are now known internationally. They have found the recognition they deserve.” Nayanmani’s plans for the future include bringing out ready to wear lines for both women and men. As for Assam’s products getting to be on a par with other handloom sectors in the rest of the country, “We will take maybe five years or so to catch up,” she says, “but we are getting there”.