Ramchander sits in the corner of his small room, his face framed by his loom, as he mechanically sets it in motion. The evening sun from a tiny window falls on him as a door opens and a couple of curious kids enter. The room is otherwise dark and dusty, but for the larger than life collage of bright yellow and orange threads that has wrapped him in a web. They surround him everywhere, stretching from one end of the room to the other and are held in place by weights. Thin asbestos sheets cover the roof of the room, while threads dangle from the wooden planks supporting them. Old faded photographs of Gods and Goddesses adorn the walls. As I photograph the weaver at work, the kids watch me in sheer fascination. No visitor, I am told, have walked into their homes for years.
“ Narayanpet sarees always come with contrasting borders, one can see the influence of the temple is so strong, hence the temple style border is a characteristic feature on almost all the sarees woven here.”
This town was once famous for its cotton and silk sarees, but today the weavers have hardly any buyers Ramchander speaks about the days when the streets were draped with sarees. The houses used to echo with the rhythm of the handlooms and almost everyone was a skilled artisan. They came from every community and religion. There were Telugus, Marathis and Kannadigas and both Hindus and Muslims worked together to create magic with their fingers. But today, there are barely 2000 looms in the entire town. And most of the younger generation have left Narayanpet to pursue their fortunes elsewhere.
We walk along and enter an ancient house with an open courtyard, cheerfully painted in shades of yellow and red. It belongs to a family from Maharashtra who had moved in here almost a century ago and is one of the few today who run a whole sale shop in the town. Speaking to Ramesh Kalyani of Kalyani & Sons, I hear that their story is no different . Today, they manage to support weavers like Ramchander but they can hardly pay more than Rs 175 for a silk saree and barely INR 100/- for a cotton to them. “We would like to give more but we have no buyers today. At one time, we used to sell in Mumbai, Pune, but now it is mainly the south,” says Ramesh.
Narayanpet carries such elegance and sophistication in sarees, these sarees are available in two mediums, such as rich silk and earthy cotton sarees, well known for gold work, cotton sarees carries mostly plain, may also use coloured checks on the body. One can see traditional motifs and rich designs come alive as bright gold borders adorn the rich tapestry of colours. Artisans in this area are dominantly Maharashtrians and hence an influence of their culture can be seen in the designs. Masterweaver tells, it takes nearly two to three days to weave one exquisite handloom saree. Borders and pallus of Narayanpet sarees are very traditional. Narayanpet handloom sarees are traditionally woven in the interlocked-weft technique.
We sit down as the white mattress gets painted by an array of colours. The sarees are spread out in front of us, the silk caressing our skin, as we drape it around us. The colours brighten up the mood, the traditional motifs and rich designs come alive as bright gold borders adorn the rich tapestry of colours. The rainbow is in front of us, soft and silky and comes with myriad shades and patterns. We are lost in the many blues and reds and as the silk rustles in my hands, we hear the clickety-click of another handloom at work. The colors brighten up the mood, mind blowing shades such as the classy black and mustard, canny yellow and emerald green, forest green pairing with maroon, bright red leaf green zari border, pearl cream and green, kumkum red and turmeric yellow, mehandi green with stunning purple, royal blue with cherry pink, classy black with sky blue, standout black with magenta, parrot green with ruby red, mustard with deep maroon, outstanding grey and black, purple with sea blue, my favorite pink with black, bright orange with fuchsia, sea blue with parrot green, haha my eyes are going crazy seeing these wonderful color combinations!
As we feel the beautiful piece of fabric in our hands, we realise why this saree should be given its due credit and should be treasured.
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