Noted fashion designer Gavin Rajah will choreograph a 20-minute textile event, aimed at projecting Khadi in a modern and trendy style, at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on April 30, during the concluding session of the two-day India-South Africa Business Summit, as ‘The Tribute to the Mahatma and Madiba (Nelson Mandela)’.
The programme is being held in memory of 125 years of the Pietermaritzburg incident where Gandhi was thrown out of a train by White supremacists, along with Mandela’s birth centenary. The event seeks to showcase New India in South Africa, with the intent to double two-way bilateral trade and investment within a five-year period.
Not only that, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has got its first lot of overseas order of 175 gift boxes containing silk scarves for this function from South Africa.
The High Commissioner for India in Pretoria Ruchira Kamboj, had requested the KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena, to provide different Khadi fabric, including silk and muslin — in both embroidered and printed forms, reflected by fashion designer Gavin Rajah.
In a letter to KVIC chairman, Kamboj said the Summit, with a tag line ‘United by legacy, unified for prosperity’ seeks to showcase New India in South Africa, with the intent to double two-way bilateral trade and investment within a five year period. “This follows the vision set out by PM Narendra Modi and former South African President Jacob Juma, in the course of PM’s State Visit to South Africa in 2016,” the letter further states.
Acting quickly on High Commissioner’s request, the KVIC immediately dispatched more than double length of the desired fabric, which was delivered to them on March 24, 2018. The most eminent figure in the fashion landscape and a household name in South-Africa, Gavin Rajah played an active role as UNICEF's goodwill ambassador advocating for the rights of children. He was so satisfied with the quality of fabric that he even tweeted about this signature fabric of India. Impressed with the quality of silk fabric — gifted by the KVIC, the organisers later ordered to supply 175 Khadi gift boxes containing silk fabric. The overall value of this order is worth approximately Rs 2 lakh.
Jubilant on getting the first overseas order for the KVIC, Saxena said that Khadi reaching South Africa means that the world is moving in the direction of economic freedom now. “The monetary value of this order might not be very big, but it is a big morale gain for KVIC as it has caught the attention of the world famous fashion designer and the organisers as well. When Gandhiji reached South Africa, a war against apartheid and British rule was started. Now, much on the expectations of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Khadi is all set to bring economic freedom as the 'Ahimsa Silk' would showcase its piousness and economic feasibility in the land of Madiba,” he said.