CHENNAI: One of the huge problems the country is facing today is the dying art of handloom. Skilled artisans are abandoning their vocation to seek better-paid jobs in the industry. Textile doyen Sabita Radhakrishna uses her pen to create awareness of the situation so that the public would in their own way create a sustainable livelihood for the artisans by providing a market which they desperately need. Her latest work as an author — Looms of Arivoor — compiles her four decades of rich experience with textiles and weavers. The book was launched recently at Madras Literary Society.
The unsung heroes
The book captures incidents fraught with tension faced by today’s craftspersons and artisans, most of them illiterate and incapable of managing their finances. From working in poor light conditions to earning low wages, the book sheds light on the weavers, their lives, and struggles.“The weavers and artisans strive hard to show excellence in weaving and maintaining a high standard, rather than succumbing to the pedestrian run-of-the-mill weaving which would fetch more money,” said Sabita who has written another book titled Raaga of the Loom, that’s yet to be released. She’s also written a play called Song of the Loom on the lives of weavers. The author has garnered accolades for her contributions as a researcher, revivalist, freelance writer and activist. The story portrays the disparate lives of the protagonists — Tilak, an IAS officer, and Kulasekhara, a master weaver with high ideals, and the conflict which arises for each in following their ideals.
Loom power
“We crib about the price of a handloom sari and compare it to a polyester blend or mill-made saris, but we don’t wish to see the sweat and blood that goes into it. For a handloom pattu sari, the weaver is paid anything between Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000. It’s divided between two or three weavers, and it takes a month to weave a good sari. Where does that leave them? The cotton sari gives them a lower wage, so they are not interested,” said Sabita.
Keeping the art alive
In the current era, weavers do not want their children to continue in this vocation. They are educating and encouraging them to pursue corporate jobs, which will fetch them higher salaries and status symbols. “One weaver told me that even being a server in a marriage hall might fetch him a higher salary,” she said.
As a craft activist, she feels the need for a body of activists with the same passion to bring about a change. “At Crafts Council of India, we have a scheme for scholarships for children of artisans. We select children who submit their craftwork to us, with an undertaking that they will be continuing the old tradition of weaving or craf-making to earn this scholarship. The wages of weavers have to be hiked. The price of the product will likewise increase, but we will be assured of its continuance and will not be relegating it to a languished status,” said Sabita.
Her next book Paachagam on Kerala cuisine will release soon. She’s also working on a book for Dakshina Chitra which covers the four Dakshin (south) kitchens along with a few others.
‘The Looms of Arivoor’ is priced at Rs 225 on Amazon.in