A thread of creation, bringing philosophy and reality together and a source of bread and beauty so aptly described by Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, about our handlooms. Andhra Pradesh has its fair share of handlooms spread across the length and breadth of the state. Let us take you to Krishna District, where the famous Durga temple stands guard as the river Krishna flows by.
A countryside that changes colours with every passing season is the landscape of Krishna district with lush green paddy fields during monsoon to a golden hue in winter, followed by colourful Vasantham (spring) and the bright summer filled with green and yellow mangoes. Climate plays an essential role for handlooms too. The clusters of the Krishna district are Pedana, Kappaladoddi, Polavaram, Machilipatnam, and Challapalli.
Polavaram
An interesting place where many societies exist next to each other along a narrow winding road. A visit to a few societies near Machilipatnam in Polavaram and its surroundings brought us to a place where a small temple bustled with people on a lazy Sunday afternoon ‘Idugullapalli’ a place of five temples, as the name suggests, has its own well-maintained handloom cooperative society. It is famous for cotton sarees with temple borders. Polavaram can boast of beautiful weaves that come out of the looms of these clusters in villages like Idugullapalli, Polavaram, Mallavolu and Rayavaram. About 800 weavers and many women are employed in different stages of the process. They weave fine cotton sarees in 80/80 count with beautiful borders.
Contact No:
Idu Gullapalli Mallikarjuna Rao
9703736134
Polavaram Srinivas Rao
9963126066
Mallavolu
Rayavaram
Kalamkari Block print fabrics
Polavaram also has a unit of Kalamkari block printing of the renowned late Pitchuka Mukantieshwarudu and his son Nageswara Rao. In the 1980s when the Festival of India was organized by Pupul Jayakar to showcase to the world India’s culture and heritage, Marthand Singh who was in charge of weaves of India paid a visit to Polavaram to meet with Eshwarudu. He commissioned the famous Mehrab design to be printed on fabric that was showcased and since, Eshwarudu shot into fame. This facility prints sarees, bedsheets, and dress materials using natural colours and traditional methods of block printing.
P.S. Though this is classified as a craft it is included here for easy access.
Contact details:
Nageswara Rao P Kalamkari
+91 9701129180
Pedana town is a Kalamkari block printing hub where you can source sarees, dress materials, bedsheets and so much more of your choice and price.
Residing and practising this craft for which he is so proud and rightly so is Pichuka Srinivas. He is uncompromising in the quality, design and use of natural dyes for his products. Together with Sri Gangadhar, the wooden block maker of Pedana, created the ‘Tree of life’ using 204 blocks and natural dyes for the masterpiece that is so sought after.
Contact details:
Pichuka Srinivas
9441370498
Kappaladoddi
Kappaladoddi is a small village near Machilipatnam, having about 500 weavers. They weave cotton sarees in 80/80 count as well as do block printing. Some units had about 4 to 5 looms, and every household was involved in the process. CCAP’s first medical camp was held here.
Contact details:
Aruna Sri Society
6303713262
Nageswara Rao
9491727077
Someswara Rao
9491727077
Challapalli
Challapallin town reminds us of its famous fort built in the 18th century by the Yarlagadda Zamindar family. Anyone visiting Andhra Pradesh should plan to spend a day visiting this historic town to see its old fort, wooden artefacts and sculptures and an old bell which could be heard about 50 km away in the olden days. A doctor couple with cooperation from locals took up cleaning streets and public places and maintaining it since 2014 in the name of Swachh Challapalli. One can make a day trip from Vijayawada to reach this town, driving along the banks of river Krishna covering 60 km.
The place is famous not only for the 400 years of Zamindari rule in Devarakota estate but also for its weaver community. When this content was written in March 2022, approx 320 weavers with an average age of 55 years were in the weaving profession. All the weavers are members of either ‘Challapalli Weavers Society’ or ‘Vigneswara Cooperative Society’.
CCAP, in the last quarter of 2019, has facilitated a design intervention by connecting Vigneswara Cooperative Society to collaborate with a designer house ‘Loomkatha’ of Mumbai, for the first time to create weaves and outfits in keeping with contemporary styles. Both societies cater to designers. One can find a beautiful blend of colours and designs.
Contact No:
Vigneswara Society Narayan Rao
9441620474
Jayaprakash
9030692403
Challapalli Weavers Society
