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Bhubaneswar: What could have been a better way to encourage the weaver of the Sambalpuri saree recently worn by actress Vidya Balan during e-promotion of 'Shakuntala Devi', than to dedicate the funds generated from online auction to him?
Apparently, with the amount of love that poured in for this elegant hand-woven Mathematical Equation Saree after the promotional event, Utkalamrita, a brand of Bhubaneswar-based Sabat Exports Pvt Ltd which had presented the Saree to Vidya, decided to auction it and started the bidding process on August 15.
After the bidding closed at 10 PM on Thursday (August 20), Utkalamrita informed that a 20-year-old Odia girl from Bhadrak district Debanshi Mishra studying at IIT Guwahati placed her stamp on the saree with a winning bid of Rs 55,000.
The same Shri Ganeet Silk Saree worn by Vidya Balan would be sent to Debanshi and all proceeds from this bid will go the original weaver - Bhagabat Meher of Subarnapur area, who had first weaved this saree for the 2016 Odisha Handicrafts Award.
Expressing her happiness, owner of the saree Debanshi thanked the promoters and was delighted that she could promote Odisha handloom.
The idea behind this e-auction was to further promote the weaver of this Shri Ganeet Sambalpuri Saree, Bhagabat Meher and donate the amount generated from the e-auction to him.
“Whatever money is generated from the online auction, we will give it to Bhagabat Meher as it will be a token of appreciation for his efforts and talent,” Managing director of Sabat Exports Pvt Ltd and founder-director of Utkalamrita, Amrita Sabat had said.
She further expressed gratitude to late Bhagwan Meher and Harishankar of Bargarh district for this mathematical equation saree. They had produced only four pieces of mathematical saree in 2017 end - one piece was sent to Kalabhumi museum, another was reserved for national awards and two others were used for marketing purposes.
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan stunned everyone on July 30 when during e-promotion of the movie based on mathematical genius Shakuntala Devi, she posed with this specially designed Sambalpuri Bandha (tie & dye) silk saree. The ‘mathematical equation’ saree left the netizens in awe. Interestingly, it took Meher over a period of one month to come up with the masterpiece.
More On The Mathematical Equation Saree:
- It's called the Shri Ganeet Silk Saree.
- The first prototype of this saree was woven in the year: 2015-16
- Purpose- Applying for State Handloom Award.
- Unique Concept- Mathematics symbols, formulae, equations as if written on a Blackboard with chalk.
- Concept and Design- Prafulla Meher, Sonepur.
- Weaver Name- Bhagabat Meher from Tikirapada, Subalaya, Birmaharajpur, Sonepur.
Shakuntala Devi: Story Behind Vidya Balan’s Mathematical Equation Sambalpuri Saree
