The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : This weaver’s dream comes true

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Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

This weaver’s dream comes true

R. Sujatha

— Photo: N. Sridharan

R. Ravi Kumar.

CHENNAI: R. Ravi Kumar, a designer from Kancheepuram, has been selected for the prestigious national award for Masterweavers for the year 2006.

The award comprises a cash prize, a ‘tamrapatra’ (a plaque) and a shawl. His 3-D sari, displayed at an international exhibition held last year in the United States, received accolades.

For the 42-year-old, the award is something he had never dreamt of even after he became part of the Co-optex programme. “I was only making a livelihood from weaving until Co-Optex officials found me,” he says.

The turning point

He learnt weaving from his father, a traditional weaver, and would work on contract for small sums of money. But all that changed around two years ago when his designs were appreciated by Co-Optex officials, who were looking for promising weavers that the organisation could promote.

Mr. Kumar was on a new and exciting journey after that. He has created several innovative designs, including the 3-D sari. He is currently working on a double cloth format, named ‘Royal Adukku Thugil’.

Where ordinary silk saris weigh around 800 gm, the adukku thugil could weigh 1,450 gm. “But then Kancheepuram wedding silk saris weigh 1 kg,” he points out, when asked if the sari would be too heavy to wear.

“It takes 25 days to weave the sari,” he explains.

Of his award he says: “The award must go to the managing director of Co-Optex [M.P. Nirmala] who found me. But for her I would have barely managed to eke out a living.”

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