Handloom Sarees: Revival vs. Innovation

Sarees are currently one of my loves and those who know me also know how I have taken to them in the last three years. Since two of these three years, I have also been on a journey of discovery of various handlooms of India all the while collecting many types myself – certainly more than what my family would like me to. In this journey, I have come across many saree enthusiasts, saree experts and of course saree vendors and resellers (and a couple of actual artists and artisans too). I have also understood how this sudden movement to revive sarees and specifically handlooms is being misused, even as many weavers are benefitting from this as well. 

Kunbi Saree (said to be revived)

© Nishtha Khurana

(photo of personal saree)

Not even a week ago, the famous painter and saree aficionado, Alka Raghuvanshi, wrote in her column in the Asian Age how some individuals or groups have been claiming that they have revived certain weaving styles and sarees that fell into disuse. Alka was pretty direct in calling them out and was barely short of taking names. But the people on these closed saree groups / circles already know who she was talking about.

It was a debatable post and one would have liked to see more discussions around what actually would qualify as revival and what wouldn’t. Unfortunately, her article soon turned more controversial than debatable due to people’s attention instead being grabbed by one word in the article (‘dowdy’). Suddenly, more people were taking offense to this word than actually trying to understand the true intent of the article, which was how some people are manipulating their posts on social media to make money. They are charging exorbitant prices for stuff that has always been around and worn by common folks by calling them revived and making them sound something exclusive and rare. 

Kanchi cotton with Bomkai motifs

© Nishtha Khurana (photo of personal saree)

Let me first explore what ‘revival’ actually means. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “revival” is “the process of becoming more active or popular again” with synonyms being “comeback” and “resurrection” among others. So, going by the literal meaning, revival of something happens when it remains at the same place and it is essentially the same thing (in this case it should mean that the saree should be woven at the place of its origin and the essence of the weaving style should remain the same). This in most cases, as Alka rightly pointed out, is not the case. Most of the Odisha weaves which are being sold as ‘revival’ (and if not ‘revival’, ‘tribal’) sarees, for instance, Habaspuri, Bomkai, Dongaria, Siminoi, are now being woven in non-tribal areas of Naupatna and Sonepur. It is a known fact that there is no weaving happening in these villages anymore. However, I am not an expert on weaving styles and hence would refrain from commenting on it. Similarly, from what I understand, the Kunbi that has been supposedly revived has also been woven outside the Konkan region. (The Kunbi I purchased – per my best guess – is woven somewhere in Karnataka as it was delivered to me wrapped in a vernacular Kannada newspaper). Then again, Bodo and Mismi tribes do not wear sarees. But there are sarees being sold with similar weaves. There is a sudden popularity of Santhal sarees and they are generally more elaborate than the original Santhal sarees. Much like Kotpad and Dongaria tribes, Santhal weavers also weaved shawls or shorter versions of sarees instead of the six-yards that are being sold nowadays. How can we still call it revived? In my limited understanding, it is a new product altogether which has drawn inspiration from an existing product which is no longer in production. 

Dongaria in bright red

© Nishtha Khurana (photo of personal saree)

Then, does it mean that they shouldn’t be sold or probably sold with any other name? I personally believe that as long as they have the weaving essence intact, they should be continued to be sold with or without the same name even if there is a slight design intervention. Why deny the people who are interested in these weaves the joy of wearing them? As long as even a single weaver is benefitted, we should weave them and buy them. Many a times preservation and continued future existence of something demands moving it to a different, more ideal location. There is nothing really wrong with that, even if it does not fall under the classic definition of revival. The debate should actually not be whether these sarees should be woven and sold, the debate should be whether the saree vendors are right in charging exorbitant prices by calling a saree a revival when it has been in existence all along but has maybe become less popular over time and is now becoming popular again? 

Arani silk saree with Siminoi motifs
Source: CoOptex

That brings me to another great idea… Innovation. Can these sarees then be called ‘innovative’ sarees? (I hope I am not giving any ideas to resellers to start terming their sarees innovative and charge a bomb again for them.) But this is something that is very near to my heart. The traditional weave in some non-traditional colour attracts me, e.g. Telia Rumals in colours other than red, white and black; or Dongarias in colours like red, teal, pink. When there is some new design intervention, it really beholds my interest, e.g. Batik sarees with non-traditional motifs like Tulips; Korvai Kanjeevarams with the ‘plus’ signs. When two arts are amalgamated, it ensnares me, e.g. Kalamkari on Kasavu sarees; Sozni or Suf embroidery on Venkatgiri sarees. And when a traditional weave adapts designs from another traditional weave, it creates a thing of beauty that I feel is unparalleled, e.g. Kanchi Cotton sarees with motifs inspired by Bomkai sarees; Arani silk sarees with Siminoi saree motifs. 

Korvai Kanjeevaram with '+' motifs
Source: Cooptex

Many of these examples that I have quoted are from experiments by CoOptex, the weavers’ cooperative supported by the Tamil Nadu government. I have tremendous respect for Mr. Venkatesh Narsimhan, the MD of CoOptex, because he is very invested in upskilling the weavers and helping them innovate and come up with new designs and colours in existing designs. These sarees are not reviving anything. They are just giving the wearers a new experience while retaining the essence of their original weave intact. Will I buy them? Of course. I have bought a few and I would love to buy more at a reasonable price. 

So, politics, mud-slinging, ego bashing aside; I am happy that more and more handloom sarees are being woven and becoming popular. Much as we can’t help individual people minting money on this wave, I hope the benefits reap down to the weavers as much as they can. And I also pray that as many traditional weaves are woven as new designs are invented and the saree lovers like me continue to enjoy the six yards in innumerable ways.

Disclaimer: Whatever is stated above is my limited knowledge about handlooms and weaves. There is no claim to authenticity whatsoever. If you know something mentioned is incorrect, please feel free to enlighten me.