Ponduru - spinning and weaving 20 years later

Explore the spinning and weaving of khadi yarn in Ponduru village, Adhra Pradesh

Dastkari Haat Samiti

Dastkari Haat Samiti

A khadi store in a town of Ponduru (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Khadi in Ponduru

The world of khadi is a world that encompasses culture, history, political struggle and a timeless form of craftsmanship that is almost meditative. It is so in the story of Ponduru, in Srikakulam district in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of a scattering of villages where hand spinners and weavers have continued their traditional forms of work for centuries. Electricity and basic plumbing have come to their homes, which are now made of cement and not with bamboo and palm leaf thatch. Elders and children still bathe around the village well.

Khadi sari (2016) by UnknownDastkari Haat Samiti

Many now do not want to weave the very fine 100 x 100 count saris they used to earlier. However, new forms of spinning wheels have made the yarn finer.

The finer cloth, newer designs, better organization and finally, better marketing, has kept khadi alive as the fabric that still stirs the hearts of the people.

Board members and Staff at the shop by Vamshadhara Weavers Co-operative Producer Co. Ltd.Dastkari Haat Samiti

Ponduru has spinners, dyers and weavers linked to organic cotton growers, and finally to many small co-operative societies that manage their collective needs.

Villagers work as a cohesive community with family members, neighbours and fellow workers.

Women in spinning process (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

People of all ages help each other in performative tasks that cannot be carried out alone. Age does not seem to matter to elderly women who engage in spinning even before the milkman arrives in the morning.

Despite the television sets and mobile phones they now have in their homes, women anoint the floors with designs in rice paste and decorate their outer and inner thresholds to sanctify their dwellings as they have always done. They do not leave tradition behind.

Woman carding cotton (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Cotton bolls are worked through many stages till they become yarn. Yarn threads are tied and treated till they are ready to be put on the big circular hand -operated warping drum or a small square one. From here they are wound onto spindles that feed the weft threads on a loom.

Then follows the collective washing, drying, ironing, folding, carrying, and finally selling of their fabric which emerge as yardage, saris, stoles and men’s veshtis or lungis.

Hand spun hand woven fabric in the makingDastkari Haat Samiti

Women spin age-old charkhas at their open front doors, weavers tie, stretch, count and starch lengthy warp threads on narrow streets outside their small homes at dawn, as couples sit together on a loom in small rooms to weave.

This is the daily routine of khadi weaving communities in Ponduru that stops only during major festivals or other collective events.

Darkning monsoon sky on the way to Ponduru (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The sky darkens before monsoon rains descend on the way to Ponduru, in Srikalulam district in Andhra Pradesh.

Ponduru consists of a small scattering of habitations and shops with adjoining villages dedicated to spinning and weaving khadi yarn and cloth.

A khadi store in a town of Ponduru (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The familiar image of Mahatma Gandhi on the front board announces the presence of a shop selling khadi fabric in the tiny town of Ponduru.

Decorative threshold (2018-06-01) by TalithammaDastkari Haat Samiti

The entryway of nearly all homes in this region of khadi weavers is a brightly coloured and decorated threshold.

A copper vessel placed there contains water for visitors to wash their feet before entering barefoot.

Interior of weaver's household (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Mahatma Gandhi is not far from the thoughts of a weaver’s establishment or home.

A page torn from an old magazine carrying a popular image of him is pasted on the wall of a simple abode to remember that he made the khadi tradition valuable during India’s freedom movement.

Woman in the process of spinning (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Spinning Cotton

Cotton bolls are worked through many stages till they become yarn. Yarn threads are tied and treated till they are ready to be put on the big circular hand -operated warping drum or a small square one. From here they are wound onto spindles that feed the weft threads on a loom. Women spin age-old charkhas at their open front doors, weavers tie, stretch, count and starch lengthy warp threads on narrow streets outside their small homes at dawn, as couples sit together on a loom in small rooms to weave.

Cotton bolls (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

A handful of cotton that sprang out of cotton seeds.

The first step in the spinning process at Murapaka at the home of Mallipadi Ratnalu.

Skeleton of a cat fish made in to a comb (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Catfish bone as a whole, and a portion of it, are made into a comb for a part of the cotton spinning process.

Ingenious local materials to make tools to perform simple tasks are preferred to industrial instruments.

Instruments used during the cotton spinning process (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

A collection of tools used to prepare cotton for spinning.

On the right, the cleaned cotton is placed in clumps inside a folded piece of dried banana stem for the spinner to grip it while spinning.

Woman holds a sliver of cotton in dried banana bark to spin (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Cotton within a piece of banana stem is held between the fingers of one hand.

This connects to the spinning wheel to become thread.

Preparing cotton for spinning (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Cotton fluff is beaten to flat in preparation for the spinner

Woman twist yarn on a stick (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

In many textile processes women who work while seated on the floor, use their toes to secure one end of the yarn or thread while the hands work elsewhere.

Preparing a hank of yarn (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The spun yarn is wound on a square frame and turned by hand. To make a normal hank the yarn has to be wound around 1000 times.

Woman and child in a weaver's home (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

In most weavers’ homes in Ponduru, young and old women can be seen working at the spinning process at the entrance of their homes.

Woman in the process of spinning (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Children grow up watching their mothers and grandmothers spinning, while the menfolk in the family stretch yarn on the street.

An elderly woman at her morning task spinning (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The charkha, spinning wheel, is the simple, traditional Gandhi charkha, which has no mechanisms to speed the process.

A woman spinning (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

No elder woman is unoccupied in a weaver’s family. Each member helps the work forward in some way.

A typical interior of a weaver's home (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Most weavers’ homes are long and narrow with the back door visible from the front one.

In the front area, the wife spins as the husband weaves, and an infant looks on.

The kitchen comes next with the sleeping area after that.

Weaver Eribabu pulls bundle of rods to stretch khadi yarn (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Stretching the warp

Decoration outside weaver's home (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

At the exit of a home, bamboo rods that are fitted to sections of the yarn to be stretched, lie over an auspicious pattern drawn on the ground.

This practice is common in most homes in Ponduru and elsewhere.

Rods and khadi yarn await further stretching process (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Bamboo rods are fitted equidistantly while the warp threads are fitted between them by two to four men working to stretch the yarn.

Stretching the warp on the street (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Activity for a weaver is already hectic at 7 am as it is cooler to work while the sun is not too hot.

Straightening warp threads (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

All the equipment used by the weaver to stretch the yarn to its full length are simple items like bamboo rods and thick twine.

The local word for warp is padugar, and pheka is the word for weft.

Weaver Thavithamma (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Talithamma holds a palm leaf fan and poses for the camera in her home. After her husband passed away, she continues to spin and help other weavers to tidy up their stretched yarn.

She offers her simple home for visitors to refresh themselves and have a meal. Her son works with an NGO that supports weavers.

Spinning wheel and warp (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

In the front of Talithamma’s house in Ponduru lies her work for the day. She carries out small tasks for neighbouring weavers.

Long warp stretched on streetDastkari Haat Samiti

Yarn is usually stretched in lengths to weave three, six or twelve sarees. Almost the entire width of a narrow street is used for this purpose.

Warp threads on beam being turned from time to time (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The full length stretched warp is tilted from side to side many times to get it straight and even. This work is being carried out in Ponduru.

Spraying starch on warp (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

While the warp is laid out it is sprayed with watery starch to slightly stiffen the yarn for weaving.

One man carries the vessel containing the starch while the other sprays it on.

Warps stretched on the street being separeted (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

A stiff long brush is indigenously made and pulled along the length of the warp to separate each thread and spread the starch evenly along it.

Every task requires strenuous activity.

Man carries coconut hair brush to comb warp threads (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The brush is made of wooden or bamboo rods and coconut fibre.

The sacred white ash on the weaver’s forehead indicates he has said his early morning prayers before going to work.

Four men separating each thread of the warp (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Four men work at counting the number of lengths of yarn. The rapid movement of their fingers needs practice and high skill.

A woman operates a wraping wheel (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

One woman constantly turns different coloured yarn on a large warping drum in a small thatched hut near the weaver’s workspaces on the street.

Multi coloured hand spun yarn (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Dyeing yarn for weaving

A master dyer in his home (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

A master dyer sits proudly by his indigo dyed yarn in his home on the outskirts of Ponduru.

Multi coloured hand spun yarn (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Khadi yarn is dyed in chemical as well as natural colours locally.

Nalla Hari and his wife weaving togetherDastkari Haat Samiti

Weaving khadi

Nalla Hari and his family at homeDastkari Haat Samiti

The family of B. Linaraju all work at the loom. His home is next door to the shop run by the co-operative society.

Nalla Hari and his wife weaving togetherDastkari Haat Samiti

Husband B. Linaraju and his wife Paidithalli,and sit at the loom together. They are interspersing a jamdani weave motif in the body of the saree.

B. Lingaraju and wife Paidithalli weaving khadi yarn at their loom (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Two brothers Batta Laxmanrao and his brother Chandrashekhar and their wives live in adjoining houses weaving at the loom together in Deveravalasa.

Fine cotton khadi with kite shaped motif (2018-06-01) by B. ChandrashekharDastkari Haat Samiti

A fine 120 x120 count of khadi weave is not produced by many weavers anymore as it requires time, skill and effort.

The elder of the two brothers in Deveravalasa along with his wife, agreed to weave one after a special request was made.

Washing and drying fabrics after weaving (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Washing, Drying and Ironing

Then follows the collective washing, drying, ironing, folding, carrying, and finally selling of their fabric which emerge as yardage, saris, stoles and men’s veshtis or lungis.

White cloth been washed (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

After the cloth is woven, it goes to the washing area in Agraharam village.

Washing woven cloth (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The cloth would contain excess starch, dust and other extraneous substances.

Hundreds of pieces need vigorous washing by hand. It is a hard day’s work in the hot sun.

A woman gathers a bundle of cloth to dry in the field (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The piles of dhotis that have been washed and wrung out by one worker.

Women laying out freshly washed saris to dry (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

The piles are then individually spread out by women workers who spread them out in the sun in an open field to dry.

Ironing washed fabric (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Then comes the ironing of each piece of fabric. The cloth is perfectly ironed because C. Suryanarayana has weighed down an already heavy old-fashioned coal iron with additional weights.

Iron for khadi fabric (2018) by UnknownDastkari Haat Samiti

The iron is now said to weigh nearly 20 kgs, and is almost impossible to lift by anyone not practiced in the skill.

Unbleached Khadi fabric (2018-06-01)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Finally, a perfectly ironed length of khadi fabric is ready to join the pile that goes to the retailer.

Khadi saree (2018-06-17)Dastkari Haat Samiti

Read more about Khadi Weaving here:
-Khadi Spinning and Weaving
-An Archive

Contemporary Khadi
Credits: Story

Text: Jaya Jaitly
Photography: Chirodeep Chaudhuri
Artisans: Weaving Artisans from Ponduru
Ground Facilitator: Switha
Documentary Video: Chirodeep Chaudhuri & Jaya Jaitly
Curation: Aradhana Nagpal

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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