Pavithra Muddaya and her mother didn’t just start a process of reviving old sarees and heirlooms but also preserving India’s rich oral tradition. By Asmita Sarkar
When Chimy Nanjappa started selling silk sarees in 1974, little did she know that years later they would be sought after by the who’s who of the country. Now as her daughter continues the legacy of reviving antique designs and weaves with contemporary sensibilities, today’s women are flocking to wear their uniquely Indian identity with comfort and ease. One of their most famed patrons was Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, the Indian freedom fighter and social reformer. Now there are endorsers like the Gandhis and actress Nandita Das.
The Nanjappa family’s love and passion for textiles and preserving Indian culture was the first thing that struck us when we spoke to them about their work, which is much larger than being retailers. They revive, design and preserve oral histories of weavers associated with their organisation. Not wanting to expand beyond their means, they run their store from their home in Bengaluru’s Victoria layout.
Each of the sarees on display has an emotional story behind its creation. Great detail, innovation and cajoling the weavers go into the making of a saree as well. “There is a lot of faith from the weavers in us. People come from many parts of the country to us for reviving a design. Once a Bengali weaver came to us and we didn’t speak the language but such is the faith,” said Pavithra Muddaya, who is continuing her mother’s legacy. A lawyer by education, when she began working with her mother, she had very little knowledge about textiles. “Everything since then has been a trial and error”, she said.
In the late 70s and 80s, women wanted easy-to-maintain sarees that didn’t need to be starched. So they made soft, cotton sarees. The products are not priced high so that people can’t afford. The highest price a saree would cost even today is Rs 55,000 approximately. Staying in touch with the grassroots, giving launchpads to weavers and financial assurance to them is how the the Muddayas make sure that they don’t leave the profession at a time when hordes of them are vying for better paying jobs. “We give them a design, an advance and assure them of buyback, she said. My mother and I have provided training and learned from the weavers. You need to build in them a sense of pride in their work for them to not give up this beautiful skill,” said Pavithra.
Talking to the soft-spoken mother and son, Arup Nanjappa, it became apparent that there is so much about sarees that a wearer takes for granted. For instance, Arup explained that Temple sarees, erroneously assumed to be the ones with pyramid-like designs, were in fact not where the term was derived from. These sarees were originally bought at auctions at temples, from where they still source many of their designs. Once a believer donates a saree to the temple, the keepers auction it off later due to lack of space at cheap prices, explained Arup. And since the best is offered to the deity, these are indeed unique and carefully crafted. One of their creations, called Cubbonpet —also the name of a locality in old Bengaluru —has its origins in Hyderabad. Pavithra found the saree while buying multiple antique yards in Hyderabad 30 years ago. She then took it to a famous weaver in Cubbonpet who remembered watching his grandfather and others weave the particular saree when he was eight years old. Such are the stories that they have collected during their long journey, documenting history and breathing new life into its continuity.
Another of their creation, Ganduberanda, a mythical double-headed eagle and the emblem of Karnataka, is found commonly as a motif in Central Asia, according to Arup. The saree, however, was woven in Tamil Nadu since Karnataka’s handloom sector is almost gone with power looms having taken over the space. However, Tamil Nadu, while also adding powerlooms to its textile factories for mass production, has managed to maintain the handloom culture, he added.
The family’s contribution in the revival of sarees is hardly limited to recreating antiques. They have also been modernising their designs for the modern woman. The Cubbonpet saree, for instance, even though it has threaded checks, has only upward moving lines on the reverse side to make sure that it doesn’t get caught up in a bangle. They are also approached by families who want their heirloom sarees to be restored or recreated for special occasions. Many a client approached them with sarees of grandmothers and great-grandmothers to be revived for bridal occasions.
Pavithra and her mother have also contributed to the lives of the weavers, who are mostly men, by creating awareness about including their wives and daughters in the business as well. “We counselled them to trust their wives with the sarees instead of hired help because who better to trust than your partner. There had been resistance as many thought women should be role-playing at home and the hearth but we tried to change that among the weavers we know,” she added.
While the handloom industry may not revive to its full extent again, at least in one part of the country there is someone who is trying her best to make sure that this beautiful Indian tradition is not lost in the frenzy of modernisation.