Shashank Pandey from Bhagalpur in Bihar and fashion designer Bhavana Mishra (50), hailing from Lucknow have together launched a unique handloom brand ~ Bhasha Bharat ~ with an aim to revive the handloom fabric and sustain livelihood of Indian artisans. Spare a few minutes to laund their initiative….
About the two founders
Shashank, 31, hails from a family of small textile traders and since childhood possessed knowledge about the trade. After completing his post-graduate Shashank decided to continue his family business but from a different angle.
Bhavana’s, 50, degree in fashion designing and her love for such crafts promoted her to join hands in the venture as a co-founder. Her husband, AP Mishra, who is an alumnus of IIT and IIM, offered the required mentorship to the duo for starting their venture.
What is ‘Bhasha Bharat’?
‘Bhasha Bharat’ means ‘language of India’. Shashank and Bhavana registered the company in 2017 and since then it is running successfully from Delhi. It is an online platform that promotes and sells traditional handlooms and handicrafts from weavers and craftsmen from different parts of India. People can buy from a range of apparel including saris, dupattas, kurtis, and jackets, and also home decor items.
Bhavana Mishra
Aim
The primary aim of ‘Bhasha Bharat’ is to address problems of weavers and restore the lost glory of the handloom industry. Weavers suffer problems of poor wages and lack of marketing and publicity avenues as a result of which the handloom industry has lost its sheen. ‘Bhasha Bharat’ popularises and promotes traditional textiles, designs and crafts from weavers and craftsmen from different parts of India.
Their struggle
“At the beginning, I faced a lot of difficulty in setting up an e-commerce platform. Amidst rising financial constraints, it was difficult to meet all the expenses. The initial seed funding from Bhavana made things rolling. There were many challenges particularly in the finance sector but somehow we managed to take our dream forward,” Shashank told Chalgenuis.
How is it different?
‘Bhasha Bharat’ focuses on offering low cost and high quality products. It offers budget handloom saris that start from Rs 1800. “Our fabric is of exceptional quality and brings value for money for the consumers. In the last three years we have not received any complaint,” said Shashank adding that the linen sarees are in huge demand. The average cost of the saris is between Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 while the Banarsi saris start from Rs 10,000.
Shashank Pandey
Benefiting weavers
In order to ensure that weavers get the best deal, ‘Bhasha Bharat’ keeps only 20 per cent of the revenue and gives the rest to the weavers and for products that require better marketing expenditure, the company keeps upto 40 per cent.
Future plans
Shashank said he plans to take the handloom products to the global market. He is eyeing towards more fund creation and tie-ups. Currently, the company sells an average of over 100 saris per month but depending on the season, at times the figure dips to 50.
Get in touch
Shashank K Pandey
+91 93088 85229
Keywords: startup, chalgenius, weavers, Bhashabharat, Delhi, start-ups, entrepreneurs.
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