Rs. 15 January 15, 2011 Volume 3 Issue 1 What use Government I N S I D E Awards ... Misery continues This is a very complicated process and it is rather amazing to find and Dakhin Kosal regions of Western that the traditional weavers do not use any graphic designs on Orissa. Today the Baandha fabric is paper. popularly known by its geographical and cultural name Sambalpuri. Varieties of the Sambalpuri sari include Sonepuri, Saktapar, Pasapali, Women of hills: an Bomkai, Khandua, Bapta saris epitome of sufferings which have substantial demand. and strength Most of them have been named after the places of their origin, The socialisation process of and are popularly known as Pata. women is such that they are made The "Saktapar and Pasapalli” saree to believe .................................. 3 with their distinctive black-and-white squares is a replica of the chessboard. Equally fascinating are the names— The Magnificent Mary Vichitrapuri, Chandrika, Nabagunja, Kom: India’s Golden Asman Tara and Krishnapriya. The Sports Icon earlier yarns of coarse cotton have been replaced by cotton, silks, tussar Marriage, motherhood, and and a cotton-silk mix called ‘bapta’. many gold medals later, she now Sambalpuri fabrics have their has her eyes ............................. 4 original style of craft known as Baandha. The bandha or tie-and-dye technique used in Dakshin (South) Koshal is much different from that of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Here, the yarn is first tied in portions, and each section is dyed in a different colour according to the design. Traditionally, craftsmen created Baandhas with images of flora or fauna or with geometrical patterns. Kungi Kitta the Alien in More recently, new types of Baandha her Native!!!! Bichitra Meher weaving Sambalpuri saree. depicting portrait, landscape and Kungi at the age of 67 years flower are being designed. Baandha learns two new languages, the PRADIP KUMAR NATH & HEMPRABHA CHAUHAN fabric is created using a tie-dye skills for survival ...................... 5 technique. The yarns are tied according Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh to the desired patterns to prevent absorption of dyes, and then dyed. Music for social Sambalpuri Sarees of India. In sharp contrast to the in our family for generations together The yarns or set of yarns so produced transformation ................... 6 t was late Prime Minister Indira unskilled manual nature of work and to keep this art and tradition is called 'Baandha'. The unique Gandhi, who became the first involved in MGNREGS, weaving of alive I am also doing the weaving feature of this form of designing is Ensuring protection of Ibrand ambassador of Sambalpuri Sambalpri saree demands meticulous despite no profit and hard labour that the designs get reflected almost Human Rights .................. 6 sareee by flaunting it at public craftsmanship with lot of physical involved in it”. Orissa government identically on both side of the fabric. functions and during electoral efforts of both hand and leg combined has helped Bichitra Meher in getting This is a very complicated process Domestic Care Givers campaigns all through her life. Soon with a high level of concentration. the ”National Award for Master and it is rather amazing to find followed the women newscasters of Government has never recognized Craftpersons and Weavers 2005, that the traditional weavers do not Domestic workers, who do the Doordarshan. And now the president the highly skilled labour and material 2006” and “Shilpguru Award 2006”, use any graphic designs on paper. cleaning chores, are at the of India, Mrs Pratibha Patil adorns it inputs involved for weaving these under which a citation, Memento and This versatile technique enables lowest end of the spectrum ...... 7 beautifully every now and than. But, sarees. Orissa state government Rs. 50,000/- were given to him, but a craftsman to weave colourful the artisans who weaved these sarees has helped them to get the National nothing has changed for him. He is designs, patterns and images into a for high profiled persons live in dingy Awards, but has done nothing to still struggling to get the market and fabric capable of inspiring a thought rooms in remote interior villages of improve the financial conditions of material support for his products. or convey a message. Thus Baandha Western Orissa struggling to make weavers by providing the input material The Sambalpuri sari is made from can be defined as “A length of both their ends meet. Very few of and marketing support. Middleman fabric woven on a hand-loom, and is systematically arranged yarn, dyed the intellectual and elite personalities is exploiting these innocent and very popular throughout India. The according to a preconceived design who dress with pride Sambalpuri illiterate weavers by exchanging the centre piece of this cottage industry in such a manner so as to enable a saree, have ever tried to know how finished products (sarees) with yarns. unit is called a monga, which is actually weaver to portray the design when these artisans struggle untiringly for Bichitra Meher, a B.A. dropout, a hand-made wooden handloom. the yarn is converted into a fabric Women’s effective role months together to weave a single son of Murali Meher of Jhilminda Sambalpuri sari is a traditional through the process of weaving". in Gram Panchayats saree, and how they are at present. village of Bajrangbali colony hand-woven Ikkat sari or saree The common motifs are borrowed Our women representatives in These artisans earn much less than (Kapabari) of Bargarh district in (locally called shari) wherein the from nature. Flowers, creepers, birds, the Panchayats are no less than the daily wage of a MGNREGS Western Orissa says, “Sambalpuri warp and the weft are tie-dyed before animals are abundantly woven in Sonia Gandhi ........................... 8 worker as fixed by Government saree weaving has been continuing weaving, produced in the Sambalpur myriad colours, all lending a distinct 2 January 15, 2011 Continued from page 1 sarees for them only on demands. poverty I want to keep alive the art town/market: Weavers are living of Sambalpuri saree making, which in remote villages with no or very Sambalpuri Bastralaya’s Negitive my forefathers have nurtured.” He minimum transport facilities; they Attitude: is not concerned with the profit or remain cut off from the mainstream Sambalpuri Bastralaya Handloom hauhan loss.With his bonny structure he and do not know what price their C Cooperative Society Ltd., Bargarh weaves the saree for hours together. products can fetch. Most of them sell the pioneer Handloom Institution Prahalad, his mother, father and their products in the weekly market of the state was established at sister Devaki all work together for like vegetables to the middleman. Bargarh during the year 1930 by eight to nine hours daily and produce late Padmashree Krutharth Acharya. four to five sarees in a month. No Financial Support from Bank/ Subsequently it was recognized Girls are now engaged in weaving Govt. Agencies: by Orissa government in the year and this is an asset for them for Lack of education and 1954. It was the largest Primary finding good grooms. Increasing ignorance are depriving them to Handloom Cooperative Society in number of girls have taken active get the advantage of loan facilities the state and country as well. Since part in the family tradition where provided by the banks to increase its inception, it worked as production a lot of physical labour and mental their units. Moreover, government and marketing society by providing concentration are demanded to officials concerned with textiles and inputs and marketing support weave the sarees. It is a fact that the handlooms never help or guide them regularly to its weaver members women were active participants in the to avail the loan facilities. Most of under the Co-operative framework. process of Sambapuri saree weaving the weavers said that banks refused Photos: Pradip Kumar Nath & Hemaprabha The Sambalpuri sareee is still all through, but their participation them to give loans on individual caught in a time warp, as weaver- basis and for them formation of Weaving in provress. was confined to less complex and membrs of co-operatives have gone intricate things like setting the groups is not possible to avail bank back to work for the middleman, thread on different instruments. loans as every weaver has different feature to the nine yards of woven put in it. To-day monga have been who markets these sarees. Earlier, Devaki, 18 years old girl, capacities to work on the looms. wonder. The rich bio-diversity of idle for some time. Many traditional they got the thread and dye from was a brilliant student, but after Sambalpuri Bastralaya has really this region has a significant impact weavers have been forced to join the the Co-operatives, which then matriculation looking at the financial spoiled the glory of Sambalpuri Saree. on the creative pursuit of the bandha increasing number of urban poor as marketed their finished products. condition in the family dropped out Instead of guiding the weavers the designer belonging to the Bhulia rickshaw pullers or are forced to be But the co-operatives collapsed due and started learning the art of weaving Govt agencies have been misguiding community of Dakshin Koshal. MGNREGS wage seekers if they are to financial irregularities after the by sitting over the loom. Her education the traditional weavers of Saree to It is believed that this art migrated forced to remain in the rural areas. entry of politicians and bureaucrats. helped her to master the art quickly. diversify to dress materials, furnishing to Western Orissa along with the In a month only six to eight sarees And by mid 1990, the vacuum bed cover and towels to cater to the Bhulia community who fled Northern can be produced for which the whole was quickly filled by middlemen.