Losting Identity of Sourashtra Weavers

Sourashtra community is losting it traditional identification as " Traditional Weaver "  (Veenkaar***) After some years, we are going to see our handloom knowledge in stamps, and photographs as a memorial one.

Old literatures says Rishi Bharadwaja thought the art of weaving to Sourashtra people.

Clothes constitute a basic requirement of human beings, protecting human dignity. Even the poorest of the poor cannot be without at least some form of clothing. It was with the intent of fulfilling this basic human need .

Weaving is a 'karma' which did not accrue any 'dosham' (fault) to the self. (Atma)

Though it employs a massive number of rural people, the handloom sector is considered a sunset industry. While some of the sector's troubles come from the relentless march of mechanisation, modernisation and sophistication, there's more to the troubled weavers' plight.

A 80-year old handloom weaver Nahandaan Rammurthy has no hope of relief from the drudgery. His is a struggle against age, ill health, low income and loneliness. This Sourashtra speaking man from Salem district in Tamil Nadu is burdened with a hernia, frequent stomach ache, failing eyesight and pangs of hunger. He has been working for the past 50 years with one master weaver, in a traditional system of cloth production in India, wherein an investor employs weavers for weaving clothes.

Everyday, Rammurthy has been putting in almost 12 hours of work. He has been earning in the range of a paltry Rs 3000-3500 per month -- major portion of which goes to pay for mounting debts and failing health. Despite lifelong labour, his worldly possessions a rented house, and limited vessels and cloths. Rammurthy's life epitomises the problems of handloom weavers and their livelihoods in India.

Weavers like Rammurthy toil for most of their waking hours to weave the rich tapestry of white silk dhoties that delight consumers across the world. Yet, their earnings per month do not exceed Rs 3,500. This is also the family income, as all family members chip in. Fortunately he did'nt have any Children.   If he had children he had bare the same income for their educating themselves, especially the girl child, who has to help in house chores and livelihood also.

How did this come to be?

As noted earlier, handloom weavers are facing severe livelihood crisis because of adverse government policies, globalisation and changing socio-economic conditions. The national and state governments do have several schemes pertaining to production inputs, market support and development, meant to safeguard the interests of the weaving community. Ineffective implementation of the schemes and the changed context of textile industry -- increasing competition from the powerloom and mill sectors -- has been largely responsible for the crisis in the handlooms.

Lack of information to weavers regarding various policies and schemes is no less a significant cause for the dwindling fortunes of the weaver community. Even government departments and implementing agencies related to handloom suffer from inadequate information and data resulting in a widening gap between policy formulation and implementation.

The formal education system (including research institutes) has not included teaching and imparting skills for this profession into its fold. As a result, any innovation and change has been left to the weaving families. In the recent decades, due to lack of information and fast paced changes, practices in handloom sector became static and apparently redundant.

This results the traditional Sourashtra community weavers to search alternate profession for livelihood.  In Tanjure for last three years more than 40,000 (forty thousand) weavers thrown their handloom job and engaged themself in various jobs like Tea-maker in Coffee-shop, Barber, Two-wheeler mechanic etc.  At Salem Nearly no weaver exist in Shevapet's 1,00,000 population and Salem Town's population only 3000 looms are producing fabrics. 

*** Veenkaar is the term to state weavers of sourashtra community.  Their famous silk weaving products is for royal families.  So they called Royal weavers also.  In ancient time, the Wage-Weavers are called " Mago Vinnaar " and the Superviros called as " Mago pAlkAr ".   Literally   " pAl " means ' Supervise or Rule or Manage or Govern " .   These " palkar " are highly skilled weavers and they teach, supervise the other weaver  called as " Veenkaar " .   Thus the major two division of weavers are the Labours & Supervisors.  ( Veenkaar & Palkar ).  Later by their teaching, the Wage-Weaving Loom is called as " Mago Tan'nathram " OR " Magathe Tan'nathram).   Today this word shrinked as " Mago " .  

Literally " Mago " means ' Ask ' in Sourashtri Language.  One who weave for Wage is called " Mago Vinnaar ".   The Supervisors (pAlkAr) used to call labours as " Magothko Vin'naar ".  (One who weaves for wage OR Coolie).   Later the word " Mago" gradually replacing its exact meaning and became used to mention a LOOM !.

Today in Telugu, Kannada, Sourashtri languages, the loom is called ' Magga, Maggam, Mago " respectively.   These Telugu, Kannada words reflects, the Path which the Sourashtra Migrants travelled towards South India from West India's Saurashtra.