The financial blues of covid19 are still haunting small-scale business people as they are either struggling with an odd job or have just given up and are living a difficult life. Such is the case of Krishna, who has been keeping the vibrant and diversified art of block printing on fabrics alive but has no takers for it due to the pandemic and modern machines. 

The resident of Abids has been an expert block printer for the last 25 years, and he was more often called a magician by his co-workers and customers for the kind of work he used to fill pure silk, silk cotton, and chanderi sarees with his bare hands. His life before the pandemic was undoubtedly a struggle, but a set number of people loved his work and kept coming back to him. 

But post-pandemic things have gotten worse as printing machines have taken over the market, and he makes peanuts out of the 2-3 orders he gets in a month and somehow doesn't get any. So to meet the needs, Krishna works as a security guard and keeps doing those few orders. Krishna explained how he sells his handprint finished sarees for just 300/- to 500/- which sells for nothing less than 1800/- elsewhere with most designs printed on a machine. 

The Minister of Municipal Administration and Urban Development(MAUD), KT Rama Rao, happened to know how the pandemic is killing centuries of art and took time to share Krishna's picture and a video of his works on Twitter and connected Krishna to Handlooms and Textiles Secretary. A kind gesture of social media highlighting will surely bring him some respite as people might now turn to him for their festive requirements throughout this month.

My team @KTRoffice will connect Krishna to Handlooms & Textiles Secretary and assist https://t.co/bPSNggMwYE

— KTR (@KTRTRS) October 2, 2021