Behind the drapes, into the rich history
CHENNAI: For those interested in art and history, going to museums, and finding the next architecturally significant building to explore, and hearing stories of the past, will always be there on the agenda. But for those who love clothes, this National Handloom Week, textile researcher, Sreemathy Mohan, urges us to know more about what we wear — from every day to work, those that are discarded after using for a long time and those that were once worn by our ancestors. Taking pride in the Tamil Nadu saris, the Craft Council of India organised a talk between Sreemathy and Sharan Apparao on ‘The lesser-known handlooms of Tamil Nadu’ at the Kamala Crafts Shop, Egmore, on Monday.
Sreemathy, who has always been a textile enthusiast, and became a researcher nine years ago, talked about the need to tap into the knowledge hidden in Tamil Nadu’s art history. She said, “We have a rich corpus of information available in the regional language. Most of it is still hidden because we are not ready to explore it in its original form and are interested in reading the British point of view.” Throwing light on the textile history mentioned in the Sangam literature, Sreemathy recited a few lines by poet Manikkavacakar in his book of Shiva hymns.
The poem described the clothes the lord wore when he came from his kingdom to the streets. Interpreting the lines, she explained, “It is said that the Lord wore Vellai Kalingathar and Pallikuppayam, dressed to ride a horse. Kalinga cotton is the cotton from Odisha. Pallikuppayam was woven white colour chinese-collar coat. Literary works like these prove that cotton — that too different varieties like Kalingam, Madhuram (cotton from Madurai) — were available in Tamil Nadu from the early 1st century itself.
This kind of detailing also explains how the poets and writers of those centuries were passionately describing their interest in textiles.” Moving on to the clothes of 1929, Sreemathy mentioned the Triplicane palasarakku ela paattu, a local announcement that says the ship has come to Triplicane to give gifts to goddess Ambaal and list the saris they have brought. She then unveiled the fascinating collection we once owned and mentioned some — Pattukal thapida, pachai pattu, mukamal Bangla deshathu banyan, sarathupatty salavai mangal, jerigai neytha pudavaigal, saayamulla thoonth, methaiku thakuntha nalla melthattu, mathalampoovin selai, Macca desethil neytha venpattu, Bangla panchavarna chelai, and Hyderabad muthalana thattipatri selai.
A range of saris from Madurai sungudi and real Madras handkerchiefs to the ecoprinted Kanchipuram saris were presented to all the textile enthusiasts attending the session from Sreemathy’s personal collection. Explaining their designs, the dyeing process, the contrast shades on pallu and the body, and the current state of the weaving community, Sreemathy and Sharon emphasised on the urgency of investing in traditional fabrics to promote our artisans. “Most of the weavers work in humid and damp areas which leads to diseases like Elephantiasis. They lose their eye sight over time and struggle with other issues due to sitting in a weaving pit for long hours. For all these difficulties they suffer, they are paid a salary of `170 per day. We should support them and value our clothes because if not for their hard work, we won’t be wearing such a beautiful piece of art,” Sreema thy summed up.