The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Where have they gone?

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Monday, Jun 18, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Where have they gone?

M. Soundariya Preetha

Now it is difficult to locate even a handful of them

TOUGH TIMES: A handloom weaver at work on Raja Street in the city. –

Coimbatore: The old town area here is said to have housed several handloom weavers at one point of time. Now, it is difficult to locate even a handful of them there.

And after great effort, a person was found – living in a two-room, tiled-roof house in the midst of serpentine lanes, squashed between tall buildings on Raja Street.

Balasundaram (57) started weaving almost 40 years ago. He begins working on the loom at 7 a.m. and ends at 10 p.m. He is able to make a “simple sari” in two days and gets paid Rs. 150 for it.

“We weave for a shop here. They give us the raw materials,” says his wife Padma. About 25 years ago a number of people were weaving here. Now, it is difficult to find even 30 handlooms in the town hall area, adds Mr. Balasundaram.

The number of handloom weavers in Seeranaikenpalayam, Edayarpalayam or Velandipalaym is relatively higher. The rates paid to the weavers for a sari depends on the design done and the type of sari, says Padma. Some weavers get as much as Rs. 400 a sari.

Yet, weaving needs a lot of strength and good eye sight.

“What will my husband do after two years? He knows no other job and we have no savings since what we earn goes to meet our daily expenses,” she says.

One of the leading handloom retailer explains that with changing lifestyle, preference for sari has also come down. In the case of exports, only handloom fabric is exported. In handloom, volume is a problem, he says. It consumes more time to weave a sari, compared to the powerloom.

A weaver gets Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 9,000 a month, on an average, that too only with the entire family chipping in.

So, now the weavers prefer to educate their children and send them to some other job, where a single person can earn as much. More retail outlets are needed for handloom products, he says.

P.S. Rangaswamy member of the All India Handloom Board says only with joint efforts, focus on marketing and designing, support through supply of quality yarn and income, will weavers be encouraged to continue this vocation.

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