Leela Barani
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9/41 Ganga Nagar 2nd Cross Street Kodambakkam Opposite to Adarsh Manor Chennai :600024
Our Journey
Leela Barani so far has been a great journey and experience. It stands for quality and for the love of Art .
The Leela Barani story goes back a very long way into the late nineties when my family and I had moved from Kolkata to a new town called Tuticorin further south. We found it very difficult to adjust to the new environment at the get go, Tuticorin is a small town and the garments available there were very loud and flashy, far from our usual choices which were basic and simple quality clothing from the Kolkata type of lifestyle.
The dream was incomplete but the passion to bring quality wearables was still burning inside me.
It was all a whole lot of experience that my Appa had taught me and the idea was to procure the finest quality pieces and textiles for my business, a thought which has remained intact with me till date.
My Appa came to know the difficulties we faced as we were four girls and a boy and to add to my persistence my Amma was someone who was very picky about things. My Appa came up with the idea to purchase an entire year’s worth of festive and other celebratory clothing from Kolkata in a single trip during our summers there.
Over the years the passion for garments changed to sarees through various inspirations and as I grew older I started to appreciate the beauty and elegance that comes with one.
The idea was well received amongst all of us but we never thought it would be reality. To all of our surprise Appa had made it happen and it continued to happen for years and years although it was not easy. To shop for clothes to be used the whole year for all six of us in a single summer trip was difficult to say the least.
With the help of those around me and through the commitment, determination and love for the art of high quality hand woven sarees and other pieces I began what would be four whole years of research with the help of sister Gauri Mageshwari. We got to travel to remote areas in India in search of the weavers to understand their work and witness the extreme patience and love for art.
As the years went by I had discussed the idea of bringing the clothing business to Thoothukudi with Appa which at the time was nothing more than a few fun laughs. After some deliberation I had a serious talk with him to bring basic cotton clothings to our native and I even went as far as to name the company, “The Blue waters ”. After which he had a hearty laugh about it and as for the name I was terribly inspired by a magazine where I had seen an advertisement for a perfume with the same name and was more than captured by it.
The travels were tough and exhausting but we still found them charming and our exquisite time together with good food and lots and lots of discussion over our demands and design and most importantly the quality of our products made them worthwhile. With a lot of studying, understanding the process and gaining knowledge over the trade Leela Barani was born in a very silent and poetic way. Coming to the name itself “Leela” denotes our family goddesses Durga in Tamizh which depicts my parents side Kolkata , ”Barani” depicts the river Tamirabarani (Thirunelveli) my In-laws side, The River Between us always denotes the person who was behind me in all my ventures as his belief in me and my venture is truly remarkable. Moreover I hope to live up to that level in my future accomplishments.
Planning a business at a very young age seems fantastic and is often the best time in our minds for innovation and creativity but in reality it’s very difficult to execute although the desire to do so stayed in my mind for a very long time. Appa used to visit many towns during his travels and if the clothing in those places was good he would take the effort to take us there to get us to learn and understand many new things about this business line. Appa was very busy with his work and his travels were extraordinary.
The dream that’s nearly three decades taught me to do my homework, detailed study and research with the best weave along with the passion burning inside you.
Every grand endeavour starts from a small camp or a barn, having a space and roof for oneself allows for more healing and gives one the confidence to stand tall and less distracted from all wrong callings…let small be supported just like any other brands .Its a pure and honest work from the heart for the elite who believe in premier quality and elegance