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Business News/ Politics / News/  Silk century
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Silk century

Silk century

The saris are first woven and then dyed. The most popular Mysore silks come in single colours complemented by a contrasting border embellished with traditional designs in gold zari. Photographs by AniPremium

The saris are first woven and then dyed. The most popular Mysore silks come in single colours complemented by a contrasting border embellished with traditional designs in gold zari. Photographs by Ani

Every day, Nagamma D., 58, sorts cocoons at the T Narasipura factory of Karnataka Silk Industries Corp. Ltd (KSIC) in Mysore district. The cocoons are placed in a semi-automatic machine which pulls barely visible threads of silk from them. These are then reeled to create the renowned Mysore silk sari.

The saris are first woven and then dyed. The most popular Mysore silks come in single colours complemented by a contrasting border embellished with traditional designs in gold zari. Photographs by Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint

The Mysore factory where it is woven, which was handed over by the Mysore sericulture department to KSIC in 1980, completes 100 years this September. KSIC buys up to 650kg of cocoons every day, 50% of which come from Asia’s largest cocoon market in Ramanagara, 90km from T Narasipura. The cocoons are transported to the raw silk manufacturing unit in T Narasipura, where they are sorted for quality. The raw silk made in T Narasipura is then sent to the weaving unit in Mysore, about 29km away, where the yarn is twisted into warps and wefts and finally woven into a sari.

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Nagamma has been working at the T Narasipura unit for 34 years. Her mother too worked there for more than 30 years. “I have four Mysore silk saris," says Nagamma proudly.

Mysore silk is a major player in the grand south Indian sari tradition. “This year alone we have exceeded sales of 110 crore," says D. Krishnappa, production manager, KSIC, Mysore. KSIC employs 731 people—513 work at the Mysore silk weaving factory, 148 at T Narasipura, and the rest at the corporate office in Bangalore.

Popular for its ability to fall well, its rich jewel tones and famously pure fabric, Mysore silk has a layered history. It all began in 1912, when Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, who ruled the princely state of Mysore from 1902-40, imported machines with the objective of supplying quality silk fabric to the royal family and providing ornamental fabric to the army. Ten looms were imported from Switzerland and Japan, and housed in the Mysore silk factory, which operates today as KSIC.

“The tradition began in the times of Hyder Ali and then carried on to Tipu Sultan, who was obsessed with sericulture and horticulture," writes author Vikram Sampath in his 2008 book Splendours of Royal Mysore: The Untold Story of the Wodeyars (Rupa & Co.), about the time of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV. “There have been several writings by the British who recall that in the middle of a bloody war, Tipu would enquire about the latest imports of silk and new methods of weaving." What began as an obsession for the sultan was tapped for its commercial viability by the Wodeyars in the 1900s. Sampath adds that the patronage of the royal family encouraged weavers to settle in Mysore as well as in the nearby town of Channapatna and in Bangalore. “It was a thriving industry that brought in revenue. It also blended well with the tradition of art and craft that has always been a part of the city," he says. The factory was handed over to the Mysore sericulture department after independence.

“The most popular Mysore silk is the crepe sari, which gets its excellent fall as a result of the number of twists. The yarn used for the weft has up to 2,300 twists per metre, which gives it the crepe silk texture," says Suresh Dabade, senior dyeing master at KSIC’s Mysore establishment. “The gold lace (border), which is brought in from Surat, is a silk thread covered by silver which, in turn, is coated with 24 carat gold. Any sari that goes out of this place is 24 carat," he says, demonstrating why the sari is considered such a good investment by the Indian woman who continues to buy and cherish it.

It’s no surprise then that at least 78,000 saris are manufactured by KSIC’s Mysore plant every year.

pavitra.j@livemint.com

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Published: 06 Jul 2012, 09:46 PM IST
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