Saturday, 6 June 2009
After an early morning flight on Saturday from Delhi, we (Hank and I) arrived in Aurangabad with sufficient time for a special event—a weaving event.
About 35 miles away is the Trimourti Paithani Centre, an enterprise that’s part of the Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation. Their handout describes how some of Paithan’s prosperous past remains “not handed down by kings and princes, nor even by learned men, but by patient weavers endlessly by their humble looms—a saree called Paithani—a poem in silk and gold.”
A minimum of 1½ months is required to weave a traditional Paithani, and 4 to 6 months for a brocade Paithani—at a rate of 3 to 6 inches per hour. The fabrics are still in vogue and are a symbol of prestige. The cloth is durable and is often handed down as an “heirloom from mother to daughter for several generations. Even when the silk finally wears, the border and pallav of a true Paithani may be burned to leave a ball of solid silver—the parting gift of a gracious saree.”
We remove our shoes as we enter the shop which has a raised area containing thin mattresses covered in muslin where prospective purchasers sit cross-legged and stare in awe as the fabric is thrown out for inspection.
The piles of sarees range from inexpensive embroidered cotton, which sell for $10, through every quality and price range to the luxurious ones of silk and silver or gold, selling for upward of $14,000 each.
We were greeted by the Production Manager, A. R. Rakshi, who is fluent in both English and Weaving! He led us into what in Bradford we’d call the “weaving shed” where there are 118 handlooms on which 80-90 weavers are weaving 350-400 Paithani a year. The looms are equipped with 4 ground shafts and a draw system that appears to be operated by a mechanical dobby:
The area is clean and light with good ventilation and spacious bathrooms, all of which Mr. Rakshe is justifiably proud.
The weavers labor over intricate designs on each selvage using supplementary wefts. Some of the bobbins are constructed from rolled cloth. A cartoon is placed under the border as a guide for the weaver:
The body of a traditional Paithani is plain, but nowadays it is not unusual for the weaver to “bespangle the body with tiny motifs called ‘butties’” which are in shapes of coins, stars, flowers, leaves, peacocks, parrots, etc. These motifs are also supplementary weft meticulously placed and hand inserted.
One weaver was working on a design that spanned across the entire warp--the border. I think this is the end edge of the saree and may be called the “Pallu.”:
Behind the weaver you can see someone working with a warping board. I believe she was measuring weft, but I really couldn’t discern the process. The warps were all entirely of extremely fine silk--and no, I have no idea where the silk comes from though I did ask and did attempt to buy some. I suspect the winding and beaming of the warp was accomplished in another part of the facility:
After a decent time to allow me to interrupt a number of weavers, Mr. Rakshe took us into a new room, to show us his pride and joy (and my envy)--100 brand new Jacquard looms. The looms were all warped, but weaving had not yet commenced. In fact I couldn’t see any mechanism for controlling the hooks. I’m pretty sure they’ll be using punch cards:
This represents handweaving at its very finest and I hope this blog entry puts to rest the concept of "cheap foreign imports" spoused by some on weaving lists. These weavers are every bit as accomplished and dedicated as any handweaver I've encountered. Their work is stunning!
Man, what a sight for sore eyes this must have been. Margaret, I could "hear" your voice when reading the blog. Thanks.
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Very impressive!
I was also intrigued by the saris of the two women pictured (the one at the loom and the other at the warping board.) They are so colorful. Are the flower motifs embroidery?
I'm enjoying your exploration. Are you and Hank travelling on your own now? How are you getting around?
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Hi Jenny
We're now in Mumbai and just getting back online. The sarees (seems to be the preferred spelling at least in Aurangabad, but sari is still used) of the weavers appeared to be either hand-painted or printed. Embroidery was a good guess though as I've seen some impressive embroidered pieces.
One comment on the traditional Indian women's clothing, it looks good even in oppressive heat and humidity. I don't know that it feels any better, but it sure "looked" better than western wear.
Hank and I were on our own in New Delhi for a couple of days, and joined up with the group in Aurangabad. There we had both separate and joint ventures. It's hard keeping a group together as we have different interests. The construction site visit was for Tommy French, Jenny's dad. He tagged along when we went to the tailor to be measured to have our material sewn up, and we tagged along to the site. It was worth it.
We mostly get around by hired car. If the weather were more cooperative, we'd opt for an auto-rickshaw.
The one-year anniversery celebration is tonight! I am sure many of the women will be resplendent and elegant in traditional dress. I hope I get some good photos.
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Yes, Marg, that border that goes over the shoulder is called a pallu. Love your photos. I visited India last year, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, with a day trip to a weaving village in Andhra Pradesh. India is a life-changing experience, mind-boggling for us textile folk. Stay well!
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