The Handloom Weavers of Onnupuram
As one walks down the streets of Onnupuram village, it is unavoidable to hear the rhythmic beats of handloom pedals, as the artisans weave to create their traditional creations. Situated 127.6 kilometers away from the state capital; Chennai, is a village in Southern state of Tamil Nadu, India that serves as a home to the craft of making handwoven silk sarees. It is fascinating to see how bundles of simple, raw and colorless larvae silk threads enter the village, only to go out in form of rich, elegant and colorful sarees of length 6 yards each.
Balakrishna, a weaver from Onnupuram spinning cotton thread using the Charkha spinning wheel.
M.K Gondhandabani who has been in weaving for 30 years, prepares the warp of the saree for the loom on the street.
Manonmani and her family members (down) prepare the warp early in the morning for the loom. The loom is washed with rice water and then separated to a particular count for the loom.
Shakuntala, 90 years of age spins the cotton thread using the Charkha, which was a symbol of Indian Independence Movement. She has been doing from the age of 20 and continues to do so with a smile.
With more than 100 families earning their livelihood from weaving, the village is a hub for one big community, divided into clusters of households. Each household is a small family, ultimately connected to the other households by blood or matrimony. Passed from generation to another, every home in the village is equipped with one or more hand looms, as the members of family pass their knowledge to the younger generations. They proudly say, “Our children go out and study what they want to, only to learn the art of weaving too along with, as it runs in our blood and tradition.”
The village is divided into different societies and companies for whom the weavers contribute their work for in return for monetary incentives which forms a major contribution for their income. The societies are small scale firms who have emerged from the weavers’ background and distribute the sarees to branded companies and showrooms that sell the sarees under their name. The designs are provided by the brands, after which the templates are prepared while the raw silk larvae threads are spun and dyed. Once it reaches the weavers, the yarn is prepared for the loom in a certain manner after which it is set to the loom. Each filament is fixed to the yarn by twisting in a certain manner. This process continues for about 4,500- 4,800 individual filaments to the loom. Generally done by the women folk of the community, the saree is then woven, packed neatly to be delivered to the companies.
The photo story aims to capture the very essence of the weavers and their pride in carrying the art until now. The art sees no gender or age as everyone equally contributes to the making of the saree. The artisans talk with glee on their faces and shine on their eyes, as they continue explaining about their work and tradition in great detail. Continuing to tell, “We work all 7 days a week and the only day we take an off, is during the Full Moon day that occurs once in every month. It is the day we pay our respects to the God who have blessed us with good fortune.” Not just their source of livelihood, but also the sheer determination to keep burning their heritage and practice with life, the weavers’ community is as closely knit as the warp and weft of their creations.
Shanthi, a worker in the yarn factory where the machines produce around 90 decibels.
Another worker in the yarn factory changes the spinning wheel for the production of raw silk larvae yarn.
The spun yarn is then separated to the length of the sarees and dyed accordingly. The colours have got their unique names and takes about 2-3 days for the preparation of the dyed yarn. (Top) Arunachalam dries the yarn and has been in this industry for since 12 years of age, (Down) A worker soaks the yarn in water before dyeing.
Venkatesan, is the only artisan within the community who makes the handmade design templates for the handloom weave. The design is made using manual drawing on graph sheets with dots which is now replaced with computer software and printing.
Saraswathi fixes the warp to the loom, traditionally called ‘Paavu Punaithal’- the initial stage of the weaving process. Typically done by the women, each of the 4500 strands are manually twisted to the loom.
Saraswathi is 67 years old and is the only one in the house weaving.
Narasimhan, 73 years have been weaving for half a decade and wishes to continue to do so.
Nirmala, weaves for 15 years and uses multiple shuttles for complicated saree designs.
Devasenapathipathy, a weaver during his work.
A close up view of the warp and weft.
The luxury they create, is still sometimes away from their reach, yet the optimistically work with their souls creating colorful masterpieces that are adorned by the creamier sections of the society. As a community, they work together, knowing every single detail of each element born within their territory. It is not surprising to hear a woman from one household to tell what is being woven or in process in any of the other homes, as they make a living by rising together as a flock of birds.
It is not a bed of roses for the weavers of Onnupuram, but definitely they do not complain it to be a bed of thorns as difficulties attached to their occupation. On asking why they work without a break, they tell, “This is what feeds us and we do not want to let it go. If we take rest, it is a loss of pay which will affect us in turn. Seeing for a small leisure time, we cannot afford to lose our living.”
Devasenathipathy and his son finish the saree and cut the cloth from the loom. His son studies textile studies at high school and is also taught by the elders at home.
Sundaram and his daughter Sumathy (not in the photo) weave for their living.
Jayakantha, a 45 year old weaver, weaves a saree for an embroidary finish. The looms are generally placed on the floor with a dug out for the peddles to accomodate the height of the machinery to the house.
Devasenathipathi and his wife Gomathi pack the finished saree into a box. The weavers are responsible to deliver the neatly folded and boxed sarees to their respective cooperatives.
Jagadesan weaves a saree that is made entirely of zari. Zari is the silk and silver thread coated with gold to give the richness and elegance to the silk sarees. The saree approximately weighs around 2-5 kgs.
The younger generation of the weavers’ community are keen on learning the art of hand loom weaving.
