Crochet is something done by old women with nothing better to do right? Wrong! Crocheting is an art that Indian women of all ages and regions have embraced; an art that has set a new Guinness World Record in India; something that has been for a good cause to boot! On 31 January 2016 a new world record was set in Chennai for the world’s largest crochet blanket by Mother India’s Crochet Queens.
Crocheting for a good cause
In about August 2015, a group called Mother India’s Crochet Queens, headed by Subashri Natarajan of Chennai got together with about one thousand women from India and from as far afield as the United States, Australia, Europe and the Gulf to beat the world record set in Pretoria, South Africa for a blanket measuring 3,377 square meters in April 2015. It started with Subashri’s friends and relatives but word of mouth and Facebook increased the size of this project exponentially.
The idea behind this was not just the desire to break and set a new world record, but also to help the needy. All the people who toiled over their crochet needles did so because now that the world record objective has been completed, these beautiful, colourful blankets will be donated to the needy all over India. The fact that people from all over the world contributed to the effort, is yet another positive takeaway form the event.
Crocheting is alive and well
Far from being a dying art, crocheting is something that even kids enjoy doing. Participants as young as 8 years of age, young boys, school kids form Kerala and older women from Bengaluru all contributed to the effort. Many of the people who participated and contributed have been into crochet since childhood. One of the participants linked the world record attempt to the Swadeshi Movement that used the charkha both symbolically and literally to bring people together.
My friend Mehernaaz Shovir Irani (in the aqua sari) one of the participants who contributed her crocheting skills was very upbeat about her experiences in Chennai which she described full of warmth and love. For her and so many others, the event was an unforgettable one.
After all this was a world record breaking moment: the event that broke the previous record by a wide margin: the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest blanket now is 11,148 sq meters, thanks to Mother India’s Crochet Queens. Also thanks to Mother India’s Crochet Queens many Indians will sleep warmer and more contented under their beautiful handmade crochet blankets created with such love and generosity!
Author: Reena Daruwalla
All images courtesy Mehernaaz Shovir Irani and her Facebook Page
