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.
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.
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.”