Chennai  :

Lakshmi K raised her voice to be heard over the ruta-tut-tut of the weaving frame. For more than 400 years, Vadamanapakkam village -about 30km from Kancheepuram -has resounded with the rattle of these contraptions that spun out cotton saris closely resembling the more famous silks produced in the vicinity.

Lakshmi’s family and a handful of her neighbours are today the only ones who are working to keep an ancient form of weave alive.

“Every time we say we make Kancheepuram cotton saris, people look surprised as the district is known more for the silk variety ,” said Lakshmi, 55, a fourth generation weaver.

But this festive season her community saw a sudden spurt in demand after Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society Ltd (Co-optex) initiated a project in May to revive ancient sari varieties in the state.

“Pictures of some of our saris were put up on Facebook. We are now getting orders from as far as Mumbai and Delhi,” said Kannadasan, Lakshmi’s husband.

“We have to work overtime to meet the demand as most villagers have left this profession,” he said. It takes around three days to weave one sari. The designs are similar to Kancheepuram silk saris, with the pallu and zari being spun out of cotton yarn.

Along with Kanchi cotton, Co-optex has been in the process of reviving other varieties like Sungudi, Kodalikarupur, Kandangi, Sungudi, Chinnalampatti and Koorai Nadu saris that were popular decades ago. Since May , around 3,000 such saris have been sold so far through Co-optex. The saris have tags with the names of the weavers and how long they have been in the profession.

“The tags helped us boost sales of these saris in a big way . A lot of people are also buying them to help these weavers,” said Co-optex managing director T N Venkatesh. The state government is also providing several incentives to these weavers.

The Kandangi cotton variety from Chettinadu region, known for its dark colours and check patterns, sold the most under the project with around 1,000 orders being placed. The cost of the saris is based on the availability of weavers, the craftsmanship and the raw materials used. These saris are priced between Rs 600 to Rs 3,000.

Sungudi cotton saris, traditionally made in Madurai and known for their rich colours, design and craftsmanship sold the least under the state government’s project with only 75 being taken.

To cater to current tastes, officials are also intervening in design and colour to popularize these saris. “The core features like the weave and feel of the fabric are retained. We tweak the design and colour to suit the needs and appeal to the aesthetics of modern-day working women,” said the official.

Turn a tag attached to these saris sold through Co-optex and two words stare back at you: Thank You. “The note is for the customer for being part of the struggle to continue a lineage,” said Venkatesh.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Chennai / by Ekatha Ann John / November 03rd, 2015