Born in a poor farmer household in Maheshwar, Ashok Bhande was forced to abandon his education early and toil it out in order to support his family. While finding it difficult to make ends meet, Ashok started learning handloom weaving from his neighbour. Ashok’s interest piqued and he went on to master the skills required to weave intricate pieces of Maheshwari sarees. Today, by virtue of his sheer hard work and perseverance, he proudly operates 35+ handlooms and provides work to many weavers from the community. His sons have also taken up the vocation and are determined to preserve the age-old traditional handloom craft while taking it to greater heights.
