Increasing income levels is key to protect traditional sari weaving for future generations
Hyderabad: India is world famous for its multiplicity of languages, cultures and even attires. However, the little fact is the country's diversity in fabrics. Historically, each kingdom patronised a different set of weavers, who went on to produce different styles of fabrics. Though the north is represented by Banarasi saris and the south by Kanjeevaram saris in the popular national narrative, there are several local varieties of fabrics that shaped people's imagination in different regions.
The cotton fabric woven at Gadwal, nearly 200 km south of Hyderabad, dominated people's lifestyle in this region. Developed under the patronage of Maharani Adi Lakshmi Devamma of Gadwal Samsthanam, a small princely state under the Nizam of Hyderabad, Gadwal saris are known for their delicate cotton base and rich zari work.
Several generations have intensely fond memories of Gadwal saris, which make them an intrinsic part of people's culture and heritage.
"I am married into a Telugu family and I still remember all my family members wearing a Gadwal sari at the wedding 15 years ago. My mother-in-law also gifted me a Gadwal sari for the wedding. So I am very nostalgic about Gadwal sari. I still have it in my collection and the fabric continues to be great," says Vidya Rani, a homemaker from Hyderabad.
In spite of the popularity of Gadwal saris among people, its weavers are going through a tough phase owing to rising costs, slow and outdated manufacturing process and price inelastic demand.
About 15 years back, when Vidya Rani was gifted her Gadwal sari, 5,000 artisan families used to weave Gadwal saris. Now, this number has dwindled to 1,500 families, a 70 per cent fall in 15 years.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Suresh Kumar Goud from the department of horticulture and sericulture, blamed this drastic decline on a variety of factors.
"While the modernisation of handlooms has increased the availability of saris, it severely affected traditional sari-weaving centres like Gadwal, Pochampally, Kanchipuram, and Dharmavaram. The increased competition has squeezed demand and profits, forcing weavers to leave the profession for more sustainable livelihoods and educational opportunities."
He said the government had introduced some programmes to help crisis-ridden weavers, but they have not been very successful. Many weavers in Gadwal face difficult conditions but still produce high-quality work.
Low scope of profit making is alienating the younger generations from the craft of weaving, and they are opting for jobs that earn them a better income.
It takes the combined effort of two weavers for four to eight days to produce a rich handwoven Gadwal sari. Such an elaborate process shoots up the price. A blend of cotton and silk (sico saris) can cost between `6,000 and `16,000, while pure Gadwal silk saris can be Rs 20,000 or more.
In the past, the cotton was unbleached for a natural look, and weavers might use coloured cotton with silk threads for chequered patterns. Today, however, some Gadwal saris are made entirely from silk, and weavers are exploring new material combinations to create these stunning garments.
Notwithstanding their labour and skill, this craft is not compensating them adequately because of lack of marketing skills, awareness about changing tastes in the country and higher input costs.
These factors are leaving weavers at the mercy of rich traders and showroom owners. They take contract work from these entrepreneurs who provide materials and designs. But the weavers are paid very little and have no bargaining power with them.
Experts say the handloom industry needs the government's support to survive just like farmers. Though the government offers financial aid to weavers and their cooperatives to improve their businesses and update their looms, they often struggle to repay loans on time.
Efforts are also being made by some entrepreneurs to rediscover the craft and make it in sync with the changing tastes of people.
"Govind Rao Ganpat, a master weaver from Gadwal, has invested Rs 3 lakh on an engineer to develop an AutoCAD-based software for sari designing, which was introduced on Microsoft Windows. He has developed over 45,000 designs. His work is famous for unique colour mixing and combinations. Over the years, he explored high-quality handloom-like designs on electronic looms (solenoids and electronic jacquard), through Wi-Fi-embedded systems for looms, and power looms, in an attempt to revolutionise and adapt to the changing tides of this industry," said Rajyalakshmi Achanta, associate professor, NIFT, Hyderabad.
However, powerlooms come with a hefty price tag of up to Rs 16 lakh per unit. While a skilled weaver can craft six to eight exquisite saris in a month, each carrying a profit margin of at least `2,000, the powerloom can allow them to increase the production by four times which could help the weaving community to survive the crisis.
The issue, however, is how could one buy these machines. "While powerlooms have revolutionised weaving, making the process significantly easier, many weavers simply cannot afford them. I urge the government to provide subsidies to help us purchase these machines and modernise our craft," said G. Madhavi, a local sari weaver.
Some efforts are also being made to connect weavers directly with people who want to buy their beautiful fabrics, eliminating middle-men. For example, the Gadwal Weavers Society helps weavers sell online. However, the weavers cannot break free of middlemen until they are sure of sustained business coming directly to them through online sales. This makes it imperative for the policy-makers to create a social security net and easy working capital to allow weavers to shift to online business, increase their income levels, and also give a fresh lease of life to this Gadwal fabric.