How well do we know our handlooms? A habitual wearer of handlooms or anyone with a keen interest in the sector would be familiar with terms such as hand spun, handwoven, warp, weft, shuttle, loom and can differentiate a Pochampally ikat from a Sambalpuri ikat. But the more we explore the intricacies of handlooms, we realise how little we know about our diverse indigenous weaves and crafts. To mark National Handloom Day on August 7, Hyderabad textile designer Gaurang Shah invited several of his clientele for a show titled Whispers of the Loom. Models wove through the gathering at the spacious Gaurang’s Kitchen in Jubilee Hills, wearing the finest of handloom saris, some of which took three to four years to weave. Gaurang interspersed the showcase with a multimedia presentation, offering insights into weaving techniques.
The presentation was intended to help the gathering, mostly women dressed in lustrous handlooms, appreciate the heirloom worthy saris. There were plenty of takeaways. The uninitiated learnt the difference between a weaving pattern (ikat) and a surface technique (kalamkari, bandhani, leheriya…). Those acclimatised to weaves from different regions looked at possible experimentations — can a Kanchi silk sari be given a Kota-like finish to make the sari lighter? Or, what happens when weavers in Kashmir are asked to work on khadi instead of wool, to cater to the South Indian market?
