Let’s look at the history of Begampuri sarees.
Initially the sarees were made of 60/60 count threads in single colour with a border (commonly known as ‘Matha’).
Begampuri sarees were known to be very cheap, full of startch and colours bleeding. The weavers used to sell those sarees to Mahajans and they were very less paid.
Then the thread count increased to 80/80. There was no drumming and beaming facility. Drumming and beaming method is winding the full width of the warp yarns (tana shuto) on the weaving beam which is to be placed on the loom.
They had to do drumming and beaming on the roads. Hence used to face loads of trouble during monsoon and during too much of sunshine.
The weavers used to work on cash credit loan system with high interest rates.
Technology improved and they used the Dobby Loom ( A type of floor loom that controls all the warp threads using a device called dobby). They started doing drumming and beaming inside a room. During this time they used to sell the sarees mainly by participating in fares.
Then came in Mrs Kasturi Gupta Menon, the then DC who helped the Begampur weavers to rise in all aspects.
In 2013 A Central Government Project was formed. Weaver’s Service Centre Kolkata (WSCK) was introduced to the Begampur weavers. WSCK helped the weavers with their master weavers, master dyers, designers, etc. A buyer seller meet was then organised in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar & Chennai so that initially within the country people can get to know about the magical weave.
The Begampur weavers gathered immense knowledge on the famous ‘Patiya weave’ (commonly known as Chiur), colour matching, thread management, colour fast, bare minimum usage of startch and making 100% cotton sarees.
Starting with just 1 loom, now there are 70 looms running. Not only the weavers are getting fair price for their hardwork, it has also led to many ancillary jobs as well where not only men even women take part.
The magical weaves have not only mesmerized the saree lovers of this country, they are now famous worldwide❣️
– By Soma Bhattacharjee
