This is a short video showing an old man using some very old techniques to produce a hand-made silk sari. The process is very slow and can take many months to complete. One of the reasons it take so long to complete just one sari is the fact that they are usually about 8-9 meters long. The women wrap and wrap and wrap the sari around themselves in some intricate pattern that I will never understand.
These types of saris were very high quality and were usually reserved for special occasions like weddings or holiday celebrations and cost upwards of $100 (which is a lot to an Indian). Some of you folks at home need to let me know what kind of Indian gifts I should bring back. I am sure some of you women would have loved this fabric store because the saris, shoals, and other shimmering, detailed items were very beautiful, flawlessly crafted, and amazingly soft.
Supposedly this is a 2000 year old technique he is using (but again, they will tell you anything if they think it will help them make a sale). They said that this style of production will die with the current generation as all of the weaving processes are becoming automated and mechanized as now silk products are churned out by loud, congested human-less mills.
One hallmark of Gandhi's movement was his belief that wearing hand made, Indian produced cloth would promote a national industry that could help to pull millions of India's poor out of poverty. He held many drives to rid the country of machine spun and especially foreign produced clothes. This, coupled with his strict asceticism, led him to wear the white loin cloths that he is so often remember for and he usually made the cloth (and sandals) himself.
looks incredibly tedious. One would have to have the right temperment for sure.
ReplyDeleteWhen MA was over there I had her get a bunch of those nice silk scarves that I then gave as Christmas presents to all the guys who were working on my WFDSS team during the summer of 07. I worked them pretty hard, nights/weekends whatever it took and knew it put demands on some family time - so I rewarded their spouses for the sacrifices. They (and the gesture) were a big hit.
I love this video! It is sad that the skill is being lost - The hand loomed fabric has such a wonderful quality. One of the hostesses at a hotel we stayed at showed a couple of other women and I how to put on a sari - it was incredible - she told us her mother did not approve of the way she did it because she used safety pins to keep it together - not an acceptable practice!
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