The National Handloom Day is observed on August 7th every year, to recognise the efforts and skills of the community of weavers engaged in this sector. Our guest today is someone who has given up almost 2 decades of her corporate experience to work with the Ilkal weavers of the last 6 years. Vrunda Sekhar is an Ilkal Revivalist, Handloom Researcher and Weaver Story Teller based in Bangalore. Facilitating marketplaces for weavers and bridging the gap between weaver and consumer have been her primary areas of engagement. Marketing and promoting Karnataka Sarees, as a must have for Indian women and propagation of Ilkal Sarees as a national weave of historical and cultural significance are also her other areas of work. Championing the rights of weavers, she is involved in research and revival of long-lost design palettes of Karnataka weaves. She is followed by a cross section of women on social media for handloom specific activities of Karnataka centric handloom sarees like Ilkal, Pattadanchu, Guledgudda KhaNa, Gomi, Kote, Molakalmuru, Charaka and Udupi Sarees. With a varied experience as a Communications Specialist, having handled external, internal, customer, retailer communications, Vrunda has worked in Corporates like Bharti Airtel, Hathway, Telenor and Heidelberg India. Apart from 18 years of corporate career, she also has served as a Consultant to the Government of Karnataka, in departments of Kannada/Culture and Karnataka Urban Water Supply Board, as a Media Specialist. Vrunda holds a Masters Degree in English Literature from Mysore University, with a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Relations and Advertising from Bhavans, Bangalore. She has served as a Member of Janapada Loka, Ramanagara, Karnataka and as Ex. Vice President of Karnataka Handloom Council. She is a certified auditor of POSH. A saree aficionado and a handloom lover, her interests include wildlife photography and Indian classical music.   Listen in as she shares her journey & the inspiring story of  how she found her purpose.