On Sunday, every graduate was full of dreams and potential. This year, 49 students were awarded degrees in textile design technology and textile science while another 34 were awarded degrees in business administration in textile management and apparel manufacturing and merchandising.
From a small rented building in 1994, the TIP has expanded into 50-acre campus off the National Highway. It has come a long way with 950 graduates and international recognition.
While talking to The Express Tribune, Danish Khwaja, a textile design graduate, said that he is looking forward to build his portfolio. “I have experimented on ‘ajrak’ (traditional Sindhi block print) with a variety of colours, mediums and techniques to make it mainstream,” he said. “I explored weaving using the clours of ‘ajrak’ and then printing it with embroidery and embellishments.” He added that the fabric was contemporary and had a historical feel to it.
For Khwaja, modernising ‘ajrak’ is a cultural contribution that could change the conventional image and create a market abroad.
Anhar Siddiqui, another textile design graduate, wants to extend the concept of visual dualism in textile art as she had attempted to do in her final year thesis. “I am quite inspired by art from the religious philosophy of pre-historic civilizations, South American countries and the Indies,” she said. “After learning about their religious philosophies, I would like to prepare visually appealing conceptual designs on fabric that look more like paintings.”
Besides designing, the students have plans to work for the research, development and administration department of the textile industry. Saqib Iqbal Punjwani, graduated with a degree in apparel manufacturing and researched the environmental effects on the quality of cotton bales. “The industry seems stagnant when it comes to research and development or adopting technologies and methods,” said Muhamamd Maaz Farid, also an apparel manufacturing graduate. “Even big textile mills in the country need to develop human resource departments. You will find the ‘seth sahib system’ or one-man show everywhere.” H added that in his thesis he had compared the job satisfaction level in employees of three different textile mills and it had confirmed his theory. Due to expanding textile industry, many graduates were ecstatic with the fact that they already had jobs. According to Punjwani, most of them had started their career with a minimum salary of Rs20,000.
TIP’s chancellor and noted architect Arif Hasan was there with TIP president Dr Zubair Bandukda and artist Noorjehan Bilgrami.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 31st, 2012.
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Nice!!