Handloom Weaving

In India, much weaving is already done by automated machines, but there still exists a cottage industry for very skilled artists and artisans. Again through Crissan's artful pleading, we were introduced to a couple who are Agriculture Department Extension workers, supporting the continuation of handloom weaving in one small village. I just went to look at the box from the retail store that sells this weaving in order to identify the village, but the entire label is in the Tamil language, with an inscrutable alphabet of a mere 226 distinct letters! So, that will have to remain unnamed.

We first were greeted at the home of the extension workers, who then took us to two homes where very large handlooms were in use to weave silk sarees.

Crissan at the front door of this home.

One loom was somewhat automated so that the shuttle was shot back and forth across the width of the loom with each shift of the presser bar.

I got to sit at the loom at see the process up close.

The weaver at his loom. He is wearing a
dhoti, a skirt-like wrapping frequently worn by men in this part of India.

Exquisite silk in blue, bronze and gold

The other loom required two people to manage, so the husband did the more strenuous part and the wife sent the shuttle back when it reached her side. This couple had two very beautiful daughters, the older of whom was 10 or so. She began to weep after we came in to see the weaving. A translator explained that she was fearful that we were there to steal her parent's weaving design secrets, a very valuable asset that weavers try to keep safe at all times. Losing the secrets can apparently mean financial ruin, so the child was terribly worried. I hope she was able to trust the explanation that we were not there to cause trouble for her family. It pointed out for me how precarious success can be in village life, and how early a young person becomes aware of her lack of security.

Such beautiful girls!

Ama and Apu, i.e., Mom and Dad, at work in the front room.

Next we traveled to the main street of the village, where the artist-designer and his wife run a saree shop, selling his beautiful designs, often for weddings. While we were there, a large group came in, a young bride-to-be, her father and mother and many of her extended family members. It was clear that choosing the saree was the father's domain, and the others were there to observe.
The artist showed us pages of pencil sketches that he uses for inspiration for his fabric designs, many of them taken from images carved into temples, which yield a rich array of subjects, styles and patterns to choose from. The artist's wife mainly ran the shop, and spoke very good English, and was also involved in finding purchasers in Chennai and in more distant places such as Italy. Although the business was very village-centered, the product was by no means restricted to local distribution. We, of course, availed ourselves again of the opportunity to support a local economy and its skilled artists and artisans.

This is a very modern young woman, with the most stylish short haircut I saw anywhere on my travels. Her husband's design work was also quite striking, and ranged from the traditional to quite modern geometric styles and patterns.