Effective marketing apart, innovation too is vital to attract a new breed of patrons, say award winning weavers
TN handloom award winners, (from extreme left), V. Palanivelu, V. Sundararajan and K. Jayanthi share a light moment after the Prime Minister presented them with best weavers award during National Handloom Day programme in the city on Friday. (Photo
Chennai: Handloom weaving is not like what it was about four decades ago. The traditional weaving motifs are undergoing changes to lure the younger generations and to capture a highly competitive market dominated by the machine looms. Effective marketing apart, innovation too is vital to attract a new breed of patrons, say award winning weavers.
For V. Sundararajan born amidst the screeching handlooms, not a single day passes by without hearing the sounds of the looms or working at them besides constantly training youngsters.
“I had created a revolution weaving 6.2 metres silk saree with blouse for the first time in 1983. Then the traders said it was costly to market and that it would not sell.
But despite the discouraging remarks, I found that it had captivated the hearts of women and gradually I began to get more orders by the day,” says Sundararajan who was among the 16 handloom weavers who received the Sant Kabir awards for outstanding handloom weavers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of the first National Handloom Day on Friday here.
“It’s small zari on a 10-inch border and images of horses, yazhi, peacock and swan that caught my fancy and I had captured this unique design on traditional Kancheepuram silk saree,” says K. Jayanthi, who learnt the nuances of handloom weaving from her father. “I have been focusing more on designs as this will enthrall the people,” she says.
“Design, texture and colour are vital in creating the silk sarees,” says V. Palanivelu, a handloom weaver also from Kancheepuram who along with Jayanthi received the national ward for handloom weaving. About 73 handloom weavers from various parts of India were conferred with the National awards on Friday. The 64-year-old Sundararajan is now keen on producing eco-friendly silk sarees using natural dyes.
“I want to bring revolution in the field by reducing the weight of the silk saree from one kg to about 500 or 600 grams for the younger women who prefer light weight sarees,” he says and adds that he had made a special silk cloth of 6.2 metres using natural fiber and yarn to be gifted to Mr Modi.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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