Asit Pramanik is no ordinary weaver – he is also a keen theatre practitioner. His labour at the loom and his love for the stage, exemplify the struggles of a worker’s existence. A story for May 1, 2025, International Labour Day
Rearing silkworms and weaving silk has long been an important livelihood in Assam. Here in Majuli, eri silk is a prized variety, its future frayed by the advent of cheap machine-made silks
For the women of the Chakhesang tribe, weaving is a traditional occupation, passed down from one generation to the next. But low wages and competition from machine-made products are posing a problem
On National Handloom Day on August 7, we bring a photo story about handwoven patola from Gujarat. Silk sarees known for their single and double ikat weave and intricate designs are a product of days of hard labour and complex processes
In Punjab's Bathinda district, Majidan Begum and Qarsaed Begum are well known for the intricately-woven rugs they craft from a variety of materials
In Mota Timbla village, single mother Rekha Vaghela weaves her complex life story alongside Gujarat’s patola – handwoven silk fabrics, often sarees, known for their intricate double ikat weave
Handloom garments are essential to Assamese heritage and culture, and its largely women like Patney Deuri who are at the loom here, weaving furiously at festival time when demand rises. But the cycle of low wages and limited access to credit threatens this livelihood
A knotted carpet from this district in Uttar Pradesh graces the walls of the new Parliament building in Delhi. But weavers who practise this distinct craft are switching to other professions
Prabhati Dhar is a master weaver of mats that incorporate auspicious motifs like banana trees and peacocks. Weaving a kamalkosh is a rare skill and one that she is passing on to younger people here in Cooch Behar district of West Bengal
It was sarees that Roopchand Debnath first wove as a young man; today, he weaves shorter and less complex gamchas on his loom in Tripura. Other weavers have moved away as the drop in income and lack of support from the state have made weaving unsustainable, but this septuagenarian is not deserting his loom
Discarded textile fibres are turned into ropes of all sizes by women from this nomadic community. They travel to different parts of Gujarat buying up waste fibres, journeying across the state in trains at night
It takes over 300 feet of cotton thread and 60 hours of knitting to make a traditional jali, a sling bag used by Dhangar shepherds. The art of handmaking this symmetrical bag now rests with only a few pastoralists like Siddu Gavade in Karnataka
In Kashmir’s Gurez valley, a small and ageing population of weavers from the Dard-Shin community struggle to keep their traditional craft alive
During National Handloom Week, we look at how competition from cheaper products is threatening the livelihood of Odisha’s skilled Kotpad weavers
Jolen Sanga weaves and stiches seamless mats with date palm leaves. A Munda Adivasi from Jharkhand, she is a single parent and agricultural worker
Women who spin thread for pashmina products earn very little for this highly skilled work. A traditional occupation, it now has few takers among the younger generation
Bapu Sutar, the last remaining wooden treadle handloom maker of Rendal in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district, reminisces about a craft that died six decades ago in his village
It's been hard days for powerloom weavers in the city's Bazardiha cluster – with lockdowns and monsoon flooding. But it’s the UP government’s review of their electricity subsidy that has them the most worried
At Asia’s largest cocoon market in Ramanagara, Karnataka, a lockdown-driven steep fall in prices and disruption of the demand-supply chain has badly hit weavers, reelers and, particularly, silkworm farmers
The Covid-19 lockdown has brought the centuries-old Chanderi fabric trade in MP's Chanderi town to a standstill. Many weavers like Suresh Koli are in a fix due to no demand, unpaid dues and depleting resources
A repairman, a weaver and a ropemaker – a Muslim, an Adivasi, and a Dalit, highly-skilled craftsmen – in Belagavi, Karnataka and Kolhapur, Maharashtra. All of them elderly and without work under the lockdown
Craftspeople all over the country have been hit hard by the Covid-19 lockdown. PARI speaks to weavers, dyers, toymakers and village artists from north, south, east, west and central India to gauge the fallout
Only four weavers – among them 82-year-old Vasant Tambe – remain in Rendal village of Maharashtra's Kolhapur district, where thriving handloom karkhanas gave way to falling demand and powerlooms
Women from Odisha who work from home for the multi-crore textile industry in Surat, Gujarat, are not covered by labour laws, are unable to negotiate better rates, and are seen as unskilled workers
For centuries, they have created Kerala's classic off-white and gold sarees and veshtis. Now, low incomes, an ageing workforce, shifting demand and powerlooms are forcing changes in this traditional occupation
From Changthangi goats in the Tibetan Plateau to retail stores in Srinagar, the making of the pashmina shawl involves many – pastorialists, wholesalers, spinners, dyers, designers, embroiderers and entrepreneurs
Despite a GI certification, the distinctive Toda embroidery of the Nilgiris is being widely copied. This, along with the falling numbers of artisans and a lack of collective action, are adding to the craft’s uncertain future
Almost every house in this village in Tamil Nadu has a handloom, and the bundles of colourless thread that enter Onnupuram leave for high-end showrooms in Chennai and other markets as rich silk sarees
In the villages of Chirang district in Assam, where every Bodo home has a loom, Sama Brahma earns a modest income from weaving, and is trying to pass on this waning traditional skill to her daughters
Lambadi women in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu have painstakingly revived 'ghater', their community’s signature embroidery, and the income from this traditional skill has ended their need to migrate for work
Around 8 lakh workers from Odisha, after strenuous shifts in Surat’s powerlooms, stay in rotation in crowded rooms, amid power cuts, scarce water, filth and noise. Illnesses are common, as are stress and alcoholism
Rope makers were once part of a thriving trade in rural Maharashtra. Now, farmers rarely buy ropes and many others prefer nylon versions. The Bhores are the last family in Boragaon village still hand-crafting rope
PARI volunteer Sanket Jain aims to traverse 300 villages across India and, among other stories, produce this feature: a photograph of a rural scene or event and a sketch of that photograph. This is the ninth in the series on PARI. Draw the slider either way to see the photo or sketch in full
Lakhs of migrant workers from Ganjam in Odisha who operate powerlooms in Surat, the country’s polyester capital, risk serious injuries and accidental deaths every day. But desperate for work, they continue
Women of the Bhotiya community in Uttarakhand’s Gothi hamlet earn an income by breaking quarried stones – and recall a time when their weaving skills brought them respect as well as financial returns
The old weaving skills of Banka district, Bihar, are vanishing due to low returns, poor state support and cheaper imports. Only a few families in Katoria village still weave. This film features some of them
Ladaiti Devi of Salmata village in Uttarakhand is a self-assured and wise warrior, who other women look up to. She tried many ways of earning some money despite her family’s displeasure, until she found her calling in weaving durries – and now her fingers weave a magic that is locally renowned
The handloom weavers of Santipur in West Bengal’s Nadia district have been pushed into a corner by powerlooms and declining incomes – many have left the looms, others are in constant debt
Most of the handloom weavers in Pedana in Andhra Pradesh are elderly, as are many of the town’s Kalamkari printers – a lack of state support and poor incomes have impacted both industries and forced the younger generation to migrate for work
In Nirona village in Kutch, the Khatri family's passion for Rogan art has kept the tradition alive for 300 years
The story of M. Murugaiya and his family of weavers
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PARI - People's Archive of Rural India
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