OVERVIEW TRADITION AND MODERNISATION OF THE

KANCHIPURAM SILK INDUSTRY

Introduction:
Kanchipuram is also known as city of thousand temple. Kanchipuram was the
historical capital of the pallavas. It was under pallavas from 6th to 7th century AD and
later became the citadel of Cholas, Vijayanagar Kings, the Muslim and the British.
During the 6th and 7th centuries, some of the best temples in the city were built by
the Pallavas.
Kanchipuram is hailed as textile city the place is both handloom as well as machine
woven silks sarees. The sarees manufactured here are famous across the globe.
Kanchipuram town is also known as Silk City since the main profession of the people
living in and around is weaving silk sarees, more than 5,000 families are engaged in
this industry. The silk weavers of Kanchipuram settled more than 400 years ago and
have given it an enviable reputation as the producer of the best silk sarees in India.
Woven from pure mulberry silk and have an enviable reputation for texture,
durability and finish. The sarees in dazzling colors are available in every imaginable
design and variety.
Kanchipuram has magnificent temples of unique architectural beauty bearing
eloquent testimony to its glorious Dravidian heritage. Adi Sankara established his
episcopal seat (Kamakotipeetam). Kanchipuram is the birth place of C.N. Annadurai,
former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu affectionately called as "Anna" by the people of
Tamil Nadu.
History of the Industry:
History has it that Kancheepuram rose to eminence during Krishna-Deva Raya's
reign, when two weaving communities - the Devangas and the Saligars
transmigrated to Kancheepuram from Andhra Pradesh primarily because within this
seemingly minuscule town there were more than 129 finely crafted temples. And silk
was always considered the ceremonial wear at religious rituals and weddings. The
Devanga and Saligar weavers were reputed for their weaving silks. Every
Kancheepuram silk Saree is amongst the most superior silks in the world. Thanks to
its double warp and double weft. Besides which, the gold in the motifs is
incorporated by dipping the silk thread into liquid gold and silver. This enhances the
beauty and the value of the silk. Kancheepuram Sarees are also known as
Kanchipuram and Kancheevaram and sometimes Kanchivaram Sarees as well.

The temple city of Kanchipuram is also the silk city of India. The sarees
manufactured here are famous across the globe.
Kanchipuram has more than thousands of handlooms and skilled weavers that
make its silk sarees one of the best in the entire world. About 75% of
Kanchipuram's population is dependent on the Silk Sarees industry, either directly
or indirectly.
The Kanchipuram does not manufacture Silk or any other raw material that goes
into its silk sarees. The Silk industry is entirely made up of Handloom weavers and
merchants. The major raw materials are mulberry silk thread and metallic thread
(Zari) and dye. The mulberry silk thread comes from the neighboring state of
Karnataka, the metallic thread which is interwoven with the silk to give the metallic
look comes from Gujarat, and none of the dyes are manufactured in Kanchipuram
itself. But all these materials are brought here, and the skilled artisans weave these
sarees on handlooms, each sarees becoming a unique hand-made work of art.

Processes involved in making silk yarn:

The glamour of the Kanchipuram silk sarees in its colour contrasts. Temple borders,
checks, stripes and floral "buttas" are traditional designs you will find in a
Kanchipuram sarees. In a genuine Kanchipuram sarees, the border, body and border
are woven separately and then interlocked together. The joint is woven so strongly
that even if the sarees tears, the border will not detach. A unique feature of the
Kancheepuram silk sari is its strength, which is made possible by the twisted yarn double warp and double weft, that gives it the weight; its elaborate border designs
usually of temples, peacocks and yali (a horse-like motif) and body patterns of floral
dots, stripes and checks; its vibrant colour contrasts that are combinations of
traditionally bright, earthy-scarlet, emerald green, black, ochre, purple, steel blue,
peacock blue or turquoise; and its exquisite design (korvai saris) beautifully
integrating the different colours of the body and the border and pallu.

Recent developments:
Initially, this industry was dominated by a handful of merchants who used to procure
sarees from the local weavers and sell them. This system was disadvantageous to the
weavers, who did not receive just compensation for their labour.
In the year 1949, the first co-operative society of weavers was formed, called the
Kamatchi Amman Society. This society consisted of 79 weavers, who were provided
financial support and several other benefits. Over the course of time, more and more
co-operative societies were formed. Today, there are about 24 co-operative societies,
most of which are managed by the Tamilnadu government. Some of the reputed cooperative societies of weavers are the Kamatchi Amman Silk Society, Murugan Silk
Society, Varadharaja Swamy Silk Society and others. The Kamatchi Amman Society
now has about 2000 members and is one of the biggest. Totally, there are about
50000 weavers who work through various co-operative societies.

Private traders like Nalli Silks and Sri Kumaran Silks in Chennai acquire silk sarees
from independent weavers in Kanchipuram and make them available to other cities
of India and in foreign countries.
Now, the Kanchipuram silk industry operates mainly in two ways1) Through co-operative societies &
2) Through private traders.
There are around 60000 silk looms in operation in Kanchipuram. The yearly turnover
of the town exceeds Rs. 200 crores, with exports of approximately Rs. 3 crores.
According to experts, the exports have not risen to their full potential, as the demand
for sarees outside India is negligible. Product diversification is being considered by
the industry, which would definitely lead to a rise in exports. Certain units have
started weaving churidar sets. Some units are considering the production of
furnishing.
Extensive research has been undertaken to make the production process
technologically sound, faster and better. The use of computers in creating designs is
on the rise.
According to A local weaver, over the centuries, several weaving traditions have been
lost. However, with the setting up of weaving centres by the government, the
traditions are being carefully studied, researched and revived. With technological
development, computer-aided designs that are easily replicated are becoming
popular.
Says A local weaver: "Over the years, with changing consumer tastes and preferences,
the Kancheepuram silk sari has undergone some changes." Consumers are now
concerned about the price and the weight and prefer pastel shades and simple
designs.
To beat the competition, the silk industry came out with three types of saris to
reduce weight, and, thereby, the price. These are: the contrast variety (the traditional
variety in which the border and body are interlocked), the semi-contrast variety (in
which there is a warp and weft with different colours in the border and warp runs
from the body into the border thus avoiding interlocking of the body with the
border) and the plain variety (in which the body and border are of one colour).

For a contrast sari, the weaver needs a helper (usually a child) to throw the shuttle
across the sari but the semi-contrast and plain saris are produced without this help.
This change led to the important social change of doing away with child labour, a
practice quite common in the making of contrast saris. For the weaver it meant a fall
in the wage cost and an end to child labour. But on the flip side, the plain silk saris
are being duplicated by the powerlooms, which are able to sell them at a third of the
cost of a Kancheepuram silk sari.
Taking advantage of the change in consumer preferences, a section of weavers, both
from within and outside Kancheepuram, are also cutting corners. For instance, while
in a traditional Kancheepuram silk sari the norm is to have 0.6 per cent of its zari
weight in gold and 57 per cent in silver, in most saris now, according to A local
weaver, the gold content is less than 0.2 per cent and the silver content less than 40
per cent. Moreover, the border is also being woven using a mixture of silk and
polyester. While one mark (242 gms) of pure zari costs Rs.3,150, the duplicate costs
Rs.250-300, thus bringing down substantially the cost of the duplicate silk sari. This
has affected adversely the sale of the pure Kancheepuram silk saris.
With increasing consumer preferences for low-priced, light-weight sarees, simple
designs and light colours, many changes have been incorporated in the Kanchipuram
saree. Weavers have started blending silk and cotton for producing the body of the
saree. Sometimes, the body of the saree is made in cotton and the border in silk.
Weaving borders using a combination of silk and polyester is also undertaken by
some weavers. The gold and silver content in the zari is also being reduced. This
brings down the cost of the saree to a great extent. These procedures have adversely
affected the reputation of the Kanchipuram silk sarees and are affecting their sales in
a negative manner. The Tamilnadu government, TIFAC (Technology Information
Forecasting and Assessment Council) and Tamilnadu Zari have jointly established a
testing unit for zari in Kanchipuram, which checks the content of gold and silver in
zari. This facility can be used by both co-operatives and individuals by paying a
nominal fee.
Weavers Service Centre, which is a unit of the Ministry of textiles in Kanchipuram,
provides training and consultancy services in design and modernisation.
Factors such as piling up of stocks and decline in working capital have now led the
co-operative societies to offer discounts on saree prices. The government also offers

a rebate on these sarees. Moreover, these societies also receive cash credit from the
Union Government. These co-operative societies are now beginning to advertise
their product in an attempt to promote sales and reduce stock accumulation.
The Central Geographical Indication Registry approved the application for
Geographical Indication Registration of the Kanchipuram silk saree by the Tamilnadu
government. As per these norms, any saree sold as a Kanchipuram saree should
follow certain set standards regarding weight and zari and the saree should have
been produced in the region. Legal action can be taken against anyone selling a
duplicate sarees as a Kanchipuram saree. The Tamilnadu Government is planning to
allot a special logo to Kanchipuram silk sarees to certify their authenticity to protect
the interests of the weavers. This industry has recently been passing through a crisis
on account of the availability of fake Kanchi silk sarees.
The government has undertaken a campaign to abolish child labour from the
Kanchipuram silk industry. Under this campaign, committees have been formed to
scrutinize saree-producing units. Some loom owners have been charged with making
use of child labour. To discourage the use of child labour, the government has
developed equipment that performs the job of a helper.
A local weaver further added: "The cooperatives use only pure zari and silk. We make
sure of the quality, weight and gold-silver norms. This makes their saris costlier than
the duplicate ones." While the larger cooperative societies such as Anna Society,
which has an annual turnover of Rs.20 crores, have managed to survive the
competition, smaller societies are finding it hard to survive. Many private master
weavers and loom owners are also affected by the unfair competition. This affects the
weavers as stock accumulation results in societies and private master weavers not
being able to give sustained work to people.
To managing to cater to the changing tastes and preferences, earlier there was, for
instance, only one designer for the 1,550 looms of Anna Society. But now we get
designs from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, the National
Institute of Fashion Technology, Chennai, the Co-optex design wing and several
private designers. Also, according to him, the unique selling point of cooperative
societies is the quality, the weight and the pureness of silk. The societies ensure the
quality of the silk yarn by purchasing it from Tan Silk, the government's shop,
through the centralised purchase committee of the government. The governmentrun dye house ensures the quality of the colours.

Several cooperative societies are now gearing themselves to meet the demands of
changing consumer preferences. For instance, the Thiruvallur Silk Weaving Society,
which operates with 1,000 looms and has an annual turnover of Rs.10 crores, has
collaborated with several design centres in India, including the NID and Kalakshetra
in Chennai, to cater to the changing design needs. Set up in 1963, the Thiruvalluvar
Society also trains its members to improve their skills to meet the changing needs of
the market. Along with the other silk weaving societies, it has begun to sell under a
brand name - the Loom World.
To cater to the changing preferences of consumers, the traditional silk units,
according to A local weaver, have begun weaving churidar sets. It will not be long
before they start making furnishings. There is also a move to blend silk with cotton in
the body of the sari or make the body with cotton and the border in silk.
According to him, the past two to three years have been particularly bad for the
traditional silk weavers. Stocks have accumulated, working capital has dipped and
several weavers are unable to get continuous work. In order to avoid losing
customers to poor-quality silk saris and cut losses owing to accumulation of stocks,
the societies now offer a discount on sari prices, ranging from 35 to 55 per cent.
Throughout the year the government gives a rebate of 20 per cent or Rs.200
(whichever is higher) on all saris. This has helped considerably in clearing stocks.
Apart from this, the Central government also gives cash credit to the societies.
In a modernisation drive, the societies are beginning to advertise (something
unheard of in the past), apart from giving customers the option of design and
colour.
Two months ago, the Kancheepuram sari was registered under the Geographical
Indication Act. According to A local weaver, under the Act, any sari sold as
`Kancheepuram sari' should follow the weight, quality and zari norms. The sari should
also be woven in the region. Any duplicate sari-maker selling his product as
`Kancheepuram sari' can be booked under the Act.
The district administration has launched a drive to abolish child and bonded labour
from the silk industry. As the first step, committees have been formed and units
monitored; and 100 loom owners have been booked. The government has also
developed a simple device that does the work of a helper (usually a child). While this

device, which cost Rs.500, has been developed only for a single-side border sari,
soon there will be one for double-side border as well.
The zari is made in the government-run Tamil Nadu Zari factory in Kancheepuram,
but the silver wire needed for its production comes from Surat because the
technique is a closely held secret of a few families there. The NFDDC, a unit of the
Defence Research and Development Organisation in Hyderabad, is now working on
how to draw wire from silver. A local weaver said: "If this project is successful, we will
not have to depend on Surat for silver wire. This will bring down costs."
The future of the silk industry is not clear. It is certain that it cannot continue the
same way. It has to adapt to the changing consumer preferences and attitudes. The
industry, he says, has to diversify and move to value-added products, particularly as
the use of silk sari is falling. Until now the silk sari has not been duplicated by the
powerlooms due to its uniqueness, but soon that may also happen and the industry
should be geared to take on the powerlooms as well.