KOCHI: It is Padmanabhan’s 17th year with his stall of handloom sarees and set mundu at the Ernakulathappan Ground. But this year is undoubtedly special. “This Onam is unlike any other. It marks the rebirth of the handloom industry in Chendamangalam,” the weaver says.Padmanabhan had lost two looms, the sole ones he owned, in the flood last year. The event scarred Chendamangalam weavers who, in their wildest dreams, never expected to bounce back. “But a lot of people came forward to help us -- media, authorities concerned, designers. We didn’t have an Onam last year.
Within two months after the destruction, we rose back to our feet. And now, we’re back with new designs this Onam, symbolic of hope,” he says. On August 27, the Onam sale of the Chendamangalam handloom industry was inaugurated by ‘Sathyam Shivam Sundaram’ actress Ashwathy. “The heavy spell of rain in the first two weeks of August did worry us, but we were prepared. We didn’t have instant help but all our looms were moved to higher ground,” says Padmanabhan who has been in the weaving sector for 32 years.
T S Baby, president of the Paravoor Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society, can’t contain his excitement. “We figured that handloom sarees are also favoured in other states. Accordingly, we increased production. In 40 years, we haven’t seen a sale like this,” he says.
“The help we acquired last year after the flood-ravaged our livelihood changed the industry and the face of handloom. Eighty per cent of the looms could be recovered two months after the flood,” he says. On November 1, 2018, Kerala Piravi Day, the weavers began weaving for their Onam collection. Designers modified and altered them. “The mindset was that of togetherness and resilience. Therefore, we could revive the industry and achieve what we wanted,” says Baby.
Despite the newfound love for the handloom industry, weavers are apprehensive if the future generation would take up the profession. “My grandfather and father were weavers. But the younger generation is not interested. Mostly they cite low wages and job instability as primary reasons,” says Padmanabhan.