On a recent personal trip to Rameswaram, we squeezed in as many textile trails as we could. Which included a visit to Gandhigram, Dindigul (will write a separate blog on that one), a trip to Kanchipuram and a rain soaked couple of hours at Dakshinchitra. The Chennai Weavers’ Service Centre and Kalakshetra were a last minute addition as our work in Rameswaram got over early. The overnight train journey to Chennai meant one additional day in the city with no pre-planned appointments.
Weavers’ Service Centre, Chennai is located within the sprawling Rajaji Bhavan Complex in Adayar. We reached around 12 noon and went searching for the office. The maximum we were expecting was a quick dekko of the Display Unit at the Centre. At the last building we see a gentleman and ask him directions to the Weavers’ Centre. He immediately asks us where we were from and what was our purpose of visit. We introduce ourselves and he welcomes us saying he’s Mr. S. Marimuthu, the Asst. Director of the Centre and that he would be happy to show us around. We couldn’t believe our luck!
As we step in, Mr. Marimuthu introduces us to the Director of the Centre. He is just as welcoming but has to leave for a meeting. Mr. Marimuthu takes us to the Textile Design Department which provides paper painted as well as CATD designs suitable for weaving, block printing and screen printing. Here we meet the National award winning designer and artist Shri K G Nagendrababu and his colleague. The excitement and enthusiasm that the team has in sharing their work and also for the art form of their work was palpable. Shri Nagendrababu says his passion for art and textile comes from observing the temple carvings of his hometown Kanchipuram. He is also a well exhibited artist nationally and internationally. We were fascinated by the way he describes a handwoven saree. He says, “A saree or a piece of woven cloth is like a river. The warp is the length of the river and the boatman crossing the river from one side to the other is like the weft. The flowers and fishes in the river are the motifs.” Never heard of a more profound description of a handwoven fabric.
Next we are taken to the busy Processing Section where a group of young students from a college are learning block printing. They also have a dyeing laboratory for synthetic as well as natural dyes. We see an enviable collection of wooden blocks from Pedana as well as Sanganer and other parts of India. We are shown several cotton sarees from Arupukottai which have been block printed to enhance the market value. The resources available at the Centre is truly exhaustive. Mr. Marimuthu tells us that they offer two workshops – one month and four months respectively in weaving, textile design, dyeing and printing. Both the workshops cost only Rs. 1000/-! What’s more, anyone interested can join.
Finally, we step into the Display Unit which has some unique collection of sarees. What attracts our attention is the shirt and a western dress stitched from fabric woven by the bedsheet weavers of Tamil Nadu. They could easily have been from a designer brand. There’s also a handwoven tapestry of Tree of Life which is made based on a design that’s pasted on the walls of the conference room. Apart from the old traditional Chettinad kandangi sarees, a monochrome Kanjivaram that looks quite similar to a Pooja saree, and some lovely khadi sarees woven to commemorate the 150th year of Gandhi, there are a few gorgeous linen stoles which were part of an experiment.
Overall, we spend an enriching three hours at the Centre and return extremely grateful to Mr. Marimuthu for sharing his valuable time and knowledge.
