P. Dhandapani, manager of the Maragathaleswarar Handloom Weavers’ Cooperative Society at Thiruengoimalai near Tiruchi, has only two bundles of saris to show visitors on a recent Saturday. “We despatched an order of 300 saris only yesterday,” he tells The Hindu, as he opens the steel cupboard at the society office situated at the base of the Maragathamalai hillock, 40 km away from Tiruchi. Equipped with a Wi-Fi-enabled computer workstation and a room full of yarn skeins in sparkling colours, the office looks ready for business. Mr. Dhandapani is one of the many handloom weavers in this part of the district who are literally weaving their own success story through a new age handloom product called the ‘Manamedu’ sari.
Manamedu is a village in Thottiyam taluk with a historical link to weaving. Though the power looms and labour shortage stole its thunder in the 1990s, today artisans in and around Manamedu have come up with a composite genre of lightweight and colourful cotton saris that has revived the fortunes of at least 10 weaving societies in the region. Six groups at Manamedu, two in Kottathur near Perambalur and one each in Thulayantham Pudur near Musiri and Woraiyur in Tiruchi support nearly 1,000 weavers. They have scripted a revival with the support of Co-optex (Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society).
Yearly contract with Co-optex
“When I joined the society in 2006, Manamedu’s weavers used to produce just plain white cotton. These 24-metre swatches would be used as the base for printed home furnishings like curtains and bedsheets. Since we signed our yearly contract with Co-optex, we have shifted to sari-weaving exclusively for it. Every week, our society weavers fill a cab with their products and deliver them directly to the Co-optex warehouse in Thanjavur,” says Mr. Dhandapani.
Unique motifs
The Manamedu sari is characterised by its ‘hand butta’, a small floral or geometric motif that is sewn by hand synchronously with the weaving of the fabric, and the ‘dobby border’, a woven fabric produced on the dobby loom that adds texture to the cloth.
Unlike the traditional variety that measures five-and-a-half metres, Manamedu saris can go up to six-and-a-half, as they come with the blouse fabric attached. “We have to change with the times,” explains Mr. Dhandapani.
The yarn is dyed at government-approved firms in Salem district, and has to be washed, wound and lightly starched before it is ready for the loom. “We give weavers a ‘paavu’ (warp) that is enough to weave six saris, for ₹3,000. Experienced weavers can finish a sari in a day, or slightly longer, depending on the patterns,” Mr. Dhandapani says. This year, the society has exceeded its annual Co-optex target of 400 saris by producing 600. “The surplus will be sold at government exhibitions in Salem, Erode, and Madurai this year,” he adds.
The Manamedu saris marketed through Co-optex cost approximately ₹1,800 apiece.
A short walk away from the society, S. Natarajan, 73, is trying to untangle threads at his 40-year-old loom as a sari takes shape in a blend of light green, white, gold and blue strands. Like most weavers here, Mr. Natarajan repairs his loom himself, because skilled carpenters are hard to find.
His son N. Saravanan, 47, works in an adjacent clay-tiled room on a deep pink sari. “I know my children will not be following me in this craft,” says Mr. Saravanan as he jumped on to his raised pit loom. “Why would anyone become a weaver earning ₹300 per day, when they can get ₹1,000 as waiters in a wedding catering business and free meals too?”
Monthly pension
Mr. Natarajan receives a monthly pension from the government. “With nobody willing to step in from the younger generation, seniors like me have to keep working to make ends meet.”
The labour shortage is biting into the district’s weaving heritage, says the Assistant Director of the Department of Handlooms and Textiles, Tiruchi.
“Our district has 1,640 looms and over 3,800 registered weavers, but their productivity is inconsistent. Many weavers also work as farmers to sustain themselves; when the agriculture dries up, they come back to their looms, so it is hard for them to undertake weaving contract jobs. Moreover, young people, even those whom we offer to train, are unwilling to learn weaving. They prefer courses in electronics or mobile phone repair, because these are considered more lucrative,” the official adds.
For now, Manamedu’s weavers, though, have their hands full. Design tutorials and cards from the National Institute of Fashion Technology have helped them craft not just local weaves but also those like Ikkat and Pochampalli from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh respectively.
