Heard About Weaver's Village In Bengaluru? This One In Particular Is A Must Visit For Saree Lovers

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There are many hidden gems in any city and namma Bengaluru is no different in that aspect. This city has seen a rapid increase in population over the past few decades, thanks to the IT revolution in India that brought Indians from every nook and corner to set home here.

As the city grew, many places that were popular with the locals have slowly become obscure. One such village is 'Gottigere'. A hidden suburb in the southern periphery of the city, it doesn't get enough credit for what it stands for and that is for its sprawling looms. This village is also known as the Weavers' Village.

Weaver's Village And Looms Being Their Lease Of Life

I heard about 'Gottigere' from a friend who had visited this place in the early 2000s and was amazed to see the handlooms for the first time. So I set off one day to explore and followed the Bannerghatta Road all the way until I hit the NICE road and went across. A little before the Bannerghatta National Park turn I saw a sign for 'Gottigere' and turned right. A couple of kilometres down that road I found myself in narrow lanes and by-lanes of 'Gottigere' that resembled any Bengaluru suburb. I parked my car and decided to explore on foot.

Just a few minutes after following the first lane that I had randomly chosen, I heard the roaring sounds of powerlooms. I knew from my past visit to a similar place that it was a powerloom indeed. As I walked a few more steps, I could easily notice that every house in that lane had a Silk Saree Manufacturing Unit. There were power looms roaring in every building and I set off to find the 'handlooms'.

Form Handloom To Powerloom: Machines Over Manual Labour?

Many of you may not be aware of the difference between a Powerloom and Handloom. In order to understand that we need to go back into history when India was one of the biggest textile producers in the ancient world. Handlooms from various regions in the country produced the finest textiles varying from cotton to silk. There were countless handloom clusters spread across every state. 'Gottigere' was one such cluster known for its silk sarees. They don't have a niche style like the Kanjivaram or the Madras Checks but silk sarees were woven in every house in the village and weaving was the primary occupation.

Cut to modern times and the machines have taken over. Powerlooms produce silk sarees using the same yarn and same patterns at less than half the cost of running a handloom. The textile that gets produced does not require as much manual labour and the production speed is much lesser too. As a result of this, 'Gottigere', like many other weavers' clusters in India has moved to powerlooms.

But I was intent on finding the traditional loom until I spoke to a few locals there and found one handloom unit run by a good samaritan from this village.

Keeping The Traditional Art Alive

A doctor by profession he wanted to keep the traditional art alive and hence runs a handloom set up that produces silk as well as other textiles on demand. I found around 4-5 handlooms here and saw the weaving process.

I was also shown the yarning process as it was happening in the unit. The sound of the handloom is much more soothing and the beauty of the woven fabric is beyond comparison. I picked up a couple of sarees from this unit and went home happy that I supported the handloom unit in a small way. They were also weaving some beautiful silk sarees resembling the 'Kanchi' ones. Also, most employees here are women.

After seeing the looms I could only imagine how the village would've been until the power looms took over. I tried to find some more handloom units but they eluded me. I think if more customers, who can afford handlooms, buy consciously weavers' clusters like these will be able to survive the complete mechanisation of everything. Handloom is an art that shouldn't die and we should be the ones to nurture and continue it by supporting "Make in India" all the way.