The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : RmKV launches reversible silk sari

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 04, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

RmKV launches reversible silk sari

Staff Reporter

It looks different whichever way it's worn

TRIUMPH OF LABOUR: K. Sivakumar of RmKV, Chennai, displays the new reversible silk sari, launched on Thursday. — Photo: V. Ganesan

CHENNAI: RmKV silks has launched a `reversible silk sari', which can be worn in four ways and which looks different whichever way it's worn. The price: Rs.68,000.

K. Sivakumar, Partner, Rm.K. Visvanatha Pillai and Sons, told reporters on Wednesday that the sari had four pallus and four matching borders with two body colours. More than 50 silk workers spent more than six months in weaving the sari. The weaving technique is new, and RmKV has applied for a patent.

Participating in a function to unveil the sari, T.H. Somashekar, Director of the Central Silk Technical Research Institute, acknowledging the record-making effort, said that the creation of a double cloth silk sari involved a difficult weaving process.

"This is technically stupendous, as it calls for an application of knowledge," he said, pointing out that the reversible sari will give a boost to silk handlooms, which face competition from power looms.

N. Murali, Managing Director of The Hindu, called the sari a technological breakthrough. While eliminating child labour, it has also set a trend in marketing, he said, complementing the weavers on the feat.

Mr. Sivakumar said the vision of K. Viswanathan, who till recently headed RmKV, was to make the life of the weaver easier by setting up a less cumbersome technique of weaving the Korvai effect (the contrast between border and body of the sari).

After two years of work, the RmKV's R and D team has made this possible, he said.

The technology used could help weave the most complicated of designs in considerably lesser time than usual. The innovation has been named the KV Technique. RmKV plans to come out with a less pricier version later, he said.

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