Unit 4

Unit Valli : Hello, Surya. Did you read today’s newspaper? Surya : No, is there anything important, that you want me to read? Valli : Yes, Surya. There’s an article on creating sarees with natural fruits, bamboo and aloe vera fibre. Surya : Oh! That’s great! How is that possible? Can you give me more information? Valli : I’ll read out the article; “Natural Fibre Weaving”. “The rhythm of the loom” welcomes visitors to Shanmuga Mudhaliar Street nearly 9km from Chennai Airport. There are weavers in the cluster. The cluster consisting mostly of third generation weavers was formed nearly years ago, along the banks of the Adyar River. 12th Communicative English Book.indb Page “In those days this cluster was producing real Madras chequered fabrics for export to Nigeria,” says Sekar, the President of the Jute Weavers Association. After , this cluster began weaving cotton fabric and sarees. Kanchi Cotton dress material sets were woven in the ’s and silk cotton during the ’s. Over the past years, the cluster has completely shifted to natural fibre weaving. “As a weaver, I was always looking for a breakthrough, something that would make handloom popular, thereby saving it from extinction,” says Sekar, adding “ The South India Textile Research Association involved us in weaving jute and cotton blended yarn. This set me thinking of developing natural fibre yarn from other sources as well.” At that time, a group of students approached him with banana fibre and cotton blended yarn for their project and this added a fillip to his research. “I developed types of natural fibres and even made it to the Limca Book of Records in for weaving a saree using different fibres,” he says. Today the Anakaputhur Natural Fibre Weavers Cluster has pit looms and are pioneers in many methods of natural fibre weaving. Collaborating with NIFT students in design intervention and colour combination has enhanced the reach of the products. Sekar has introduced “MooligaiPudavai” (herbal Sarees) where he infuses natural fibre yarn with turmeric, tulsi, neem and sandalwood. He says, these herbs and spices have anti-bacterial properties and are good for the skin. The weavers have developed different natural fibre yarns so far, of which the most popular are pineapple, aloe vera, bamboo, banana stem and erukkanchedi (Calotropis). Eager to adopt some of these practices, the North East Development council has invited Sekar to train the women weavers of Assam. “We have finally proved that handloom can be a profitable business,” he smiles. This venture has generated more jobs, says Sekar.