Not every fashion design graduate wants to move out of comfort zones, and out of glitzy metros. Hemang Agrawal was one of those exceptions who did. He went back to his hometown of Varanasi and has since been promoting traditional Indian textiles. In a freewheeling conversation with Meher Castelino, Agrawal speaks about the passion that drew him out of the mundane.

One does not often get to see a fashion design graduate switching weaves, devoting his life to the promotion of Indian textiles. But, that’s exactly what Hemang Agrawal has done.

A 2001 fashion design graduate from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) Mumbai, Agrawal had been born in a textile family of Varanasi where handloom silks were part and parcel of the family’s daily life. His father, Shyam Krishna Agrawal, was a fine arts student who understood both art and business well. He started a business of saris under the banner of Surekha Arts in 1970, a firm that is today one of the many companies that’s part of the Surekha Group. Textiles, therefore, remained in Hemang’s conscious mind, and shaped his life right from day one.