Pratishtha Pandya

Translator

Umesh Solanki

Editor

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“It all begins with a single thread and ends with
a single thread,” says Rekha Ben Vaghela with a faint smile. She is sitting at
her handloom weaving a single ikat patolu in her house in Mota Timbla
village of Gujarat. “In the beginning we wind the bobbin with a single thread
and in the end, we transfer the now dyed thread onto the bobbin,” Rekha Ben
explains the many processes of patola making that come before the
bobbins for the weft thread are ready, and the warp thread is set on the loom.

Many in the Vankarvas in this village in
Surendranagar district where she lives are engaged in one or the other task
related to making the famous silk sarees known as patolu. But Rekha Ben, in her
40s today, is the only Dalit woman patola maker in Limbdi taluka, weaving
single and double ikat patola. (Read: <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/the-warp-and-weft-of-rekha-bens-life/">The
warp and the weft of Rekha Ben’s life</a>).

The patola from Surendranagar are known
as ‘zalawadi’ patola, often cheaper than those made in Patan. Originally
known for its single ikat patola, vankars (weavers) in Zalawad now also
weave double ikat ones. “In single ikat, the design is only on the
weft. In double ikat, both the warp and the weft have a design,” says Rekha Ben,
explaining the difference between the two kinds of patola. 

It is the design that complicates the process.
Rekha Ben is trying to explain it one more time. “A single ikat patolu
has 3,500 warp threads and 13,750 weft threads. While a double ikat one has 2,220
warp threads and 9,870 weft threads,” she says sliding the bobbin with the weft
thread into the shuttle.

The sight of the bobbin brings the image of 55-year-old
Ganga Ben Parmar in front of my eyes. “We take the hank of yarn on a big wooden
spool first and then from there on to a bobbin with the help of a spinning
wheel. You cannot wind the bobbin without the spinning wheel,” she had said
while working on one at her home in Limbdi’s Ghagharetiya village.

“Where are you lost?” Rekha Ben’s voice brings
me back to our discussion of the patola threads, a complex process that
she has been explaining to me for the nth time that day. “Write,” she commands
fixing her eyes on my notebook. She
stops weaving for a while, trying to ensure that I understand the process
completely.

I write down the steps process,
quite intricate with more than a dozen steps, that can last over weeks and will
involve many more workers beyond the weaver. The
process that begins with the hank of silk yarn and finishes with the last
thread going into the 252-inch long patola saree, can take six months
of labour. 

“A single mistake at any step and
you are sure to ruin the patolu,” she pronounces.

Picking up the threads of patola

پٹولا کے دھاگوں کی ریشمی دنیا

పడుగూపేకల పటోలా

படோலாவின் நூல்களை இணைப்போம்

ਪਟੋਲੇ ਦੇ ਧਾਗੇ ਚੁਣਦਿਆਂ

ହାତରେ ପଟୋଲା ବୁଣିବା

पटोलाची बहुरंगी वीण आणि विणकर

പട്ടോല നെയ്ത്ത് തുടരുന്നവർ

ಪಟೋಲದ ನೂಲುಗಳು

पटोला के धागों की रेशम-दुनिया

पटोला के धागा धरे बुनई

पटोला के तागन से बन्हाइल जिनगी

পাটোলা সুতোর জটিল পথে জীবনের খোঁজ

পটোলাৰ সূতাত দৃশ্যমান শিপিনীসকলৰ জীৱন পৰিক্ৰমা

પડી પટોળે ભાત, આ મહેનતની

Limbdi

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ہمارے بارے میں جانیں

پاری میں آپ کا خیرمقدم ہے

گے۔ اگر آپ کو ہمارا کام پسند ہے، تو آپ ہمارے رضاکار بن کر ہمارا تعاون کر سکتے ہیں یا ہماری مالی مدد کر سکتے ہیں، تاکہ ہم اپنا کام جاری رکھ سکیں۔

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Picking up the threads of patola

On National Handloom Day this 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

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