ARTISAN AWARENESS WORKSHOP

Textile Design, Semester 6

Batch 2018-2022

Department of Textile Design

National Institute of Fashion Technology, (Patna)
27-29 May,
2021

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Content

Sl no. Heading Page

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1 Introduction 2

1.1 Crafts- an Overview 3

1.2. Textile Craft of India 3

1.3. Handloom 5

2. Sericulture and Silk Industry 6

2.1. Silk of India 7

3. The Silk City- Bhagalpur 9

3.1. Pre-Process of Weaving 10

4. Preparation of Raw Material 10

4.1. Weaving 12
4.2. Parts of the Looms 13
4.3. Dressing the Loom 14
4.4. Weft Winding & Weaving the Fabric 15
4.5. Yarn Varieties and Costing 16
5. Artisans Awareness Workshop (AAW), 2021 17
5.1. Day 1: Agendas on 27th May 2021 17
5.2. Day 2: Agendas on 28th May 2021 21
5.3. Day 3: Agendas on 29th May 2021 21
6. Interview Sessions with the Invited Artisans in AAW 21 21
Mr. Sunil Kumar, Master artisan from Nath Nagar, Bhagalpur, Bihar 22

Mr. Vinod Kumar, Master artisan from Nath Nagar, Bhagalpur, Bihar 22

Md. Afzal Alam Ansari, Master artisan from Miranchak, Bhagalpur, Bihar 23

Mr. Kamlesh Kumar, Master artisan from Nepura, Nalanda, Bihar 23

Mr. Akilesh Kumar, Master artisan from Nepura, Nalanda, Bihar 23

7. Questionnaire Asked to the Artisans 24

8. Strategic solutions provided by Department of Textile Design, NIFT-Patna 25
9. Conclusions 27
10. References 27

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 1. Introduction

Handloom weaving sector is known for its old heritage importance which includes the tradition of
excellent craftsmanship. This sector plays a very important role in the significance of country’s
economy. In this cluster visit, we have portrayed the handloom craft carried out in Bihar. An online
research of this place helped us to learn various information regarding the actual lifestyle of people,
making of craft and the present status of the weavers. On further deep analysis, we have compiled the
information absorbed throughout the process that leads to the growth and improvement of welfare for the
handloom workers. A cluster is defined as a geographic concentration (a city/ town/few adjacent village
and their adjoining areas) of units producing near similar products and facing common opportunities and
threats. An artisan cluster is defined as geographically concentrated (mostly in villages/townships)
household units producing handicraft/handloom products. In a typical cluster, such producers often
belong to a traditional community, producing the long-established products for generations. Indeed, many
artisan clusters are centuries old. The craft cluster initiative project conducted by NIFT is made with the

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objective to promote the students to the actual reality scene of the craft and gain knowledge on its
environment, resources, process, marketing and various other fields. This program helps us to perform a
survey and seek information, knowledge and get exposure in both continuous and systematic way in the
life of an artisan and craft. This cluster also helps the weavers to gain knowledge from the students as
they even get chance to interact with the group.

1.1. Crafts- an Overview

A craft or trade is a pastime or a profession that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled
work. The traditional term craftsman is nowadays often replaced by artisan and rarely by craftsperson
(craftspeople). Handicraft is the “traditional” main sector of the crafts; it is a type of work where
useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. Usually the
term is applied to traditional means of making goods. The individual artisanship of the items is a
paramount criterion, such items often have cultural and/or religious significance. Items made by mass
production or machines are not handicraft goods. Handicraft goods are made with craft production
processes. Some crafts, especially in areas such as pottery, wood working, and the various stages of
textile production, could be practiced on a part-time basis by those who work in agriculture and other
fields and is often a part of village life. The mass production of goods by large scale industry has
limited crafts to market segments in which industry’s modes of functioning or its mass-produced
goods cannot satisfy the preferences of potential buyers. Crafts are divided into five types: 1. Textile
2. Decorative 3. Paper 4. Functional 5. Fashion.

1.2. Textile Craft of India

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In India, textile enjoys a rich heritage and the origin of textiles in India traces back to the Indus valley
Civilization where people used homespun cotton for weaving their clothes. Ramayana and Mahabharata,
the Indian epics depict the existence of wide variety of fabrics in ancient India. These epics refer both to
rich and stylized garment worn by the aristocrats and ordinary simple clothes worn by the common
people. The contemporary Indian textile not only reflects the splendid past but also cater to the
requirements of the modern times. Each and every region of India contributes in creating textile tradition.
The hilly region of the country produces a rich variety of woolen textiles. The barren and semi barren
regions like Rajasthan and Gujarat usually prefers embroidered bright colored textiles. The coastal areas
of the south eastern regions prefer light colored fabrics and particularly cotton and silk textiles are very

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popular over there. Apart from those mentioned, each and every region and state of India has its own
distinct individual style in textile.
1.3. Handloom

The beauty and variety of Indian handloom is legendary. The texture and color with the most intricate of
woven patterns and embroidery can leave most anyone spellbound. Archaeological evidence traces the
beginning of handloom in the Indian sub-continent back to the Indus Valley Civilization. Subsequent
Aryan settlers in the region also adopted and further honed techniques of weaving cotton and wool
followed by embellishing these fabrics with dyes and embroidery. Spinning, weaving, dyeing and other
textile related artforms gave rise to a flourishing cottage industry. The advent of the Mughal empire saw
weavers getting patronage from the royalty and creation of new fabrics such as ‘Mulmul’, ‘Banarsi
Brocade’, ‘Jamawar’ etc. The arrival of the East India Company, however sounded the death knell
for the Indian textile industry. Post-independence, the Government of India took several steps to revive
the handloom sector. Designers like Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi, Sanjay Garg and others have also given
much needed exposure to handloom weaves not just in India but across the world.

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2. Sericulture and Silk Industry
Silk is the most elegant textile in the world with unparalleled grandeur, natural sheen, and inherent
affinity for dyes, high absorbance, light weight, soft touch and high durability and is known as the queen
of textiles the world over. The Indian silk industry has seen many ups and downs. During the 18th, 19th
and early 20th centuries sericulture flourished in the states of Bengal, Mysore and Kashmir. During the
Second World War silk production was promoted for making parachutes. Planned efforts of the
Government of India in the post-independence period gave a thrust as a tool for rural employment,
poverty alleviation and export earnings which gave a big boost to the industry. At present, it is estimated
that every hectare of silk provides employment to about 16 persons. Concerted research and development
efforts and expansion brought the raw silk production from 1437 MT in 1951-56 to 17351 MT in 2001-02
though it remained almost static during X Plan. However, the productivity has gone up from 16 kg to 85
kg raw silk per ha / year. China, producing 102,560 MT (81.65%) of raw silk is the largest exporter where
as India, contributing about 13 percent of the world’s raw silk production, is the largest consumer.
The high quality and low price are the strengths of Chinese silk while the traditional practice of
wearing silk clothing on all auspicious days has been the strength of the Indian silk in the domestic
market and the exclusive designs in the international markets. Indian exports are largely dependent on the
import of quality silk from China. India has the distinction of being the only country producing all the
four known commercial silks, namely, Mulberry, Tassar, Eri and Muga.

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2.1. Silk of India
 Mulberry silk: Mulberry silk is the most popular and widely cultivated one produced by the
insect, Bombyx mori, feeding exclusively on the leaves of mulberry. Depending on the number of
generations it passes in a year they have been termed as univoltine, bivoltine and multivoltine.
Bivoltine hybrids are reared largely in the temperate regions such as Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh and Uttaranchal, a few pockets in the eastern/north-eastern region and to a limited extent
in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Multivoltine reeling cocoons are produced
exclusively in West Bengal and parts of Assam.

 Tussar silk: Tussar silk is largely produced by the tropical insect, Antheraea mylitta and to a little
extent by the temperate insect, Antheraea proylei. They feed on a wide range of species of food
plants. The tropical tussar silkworms feed mainly on Asan, Arjun and Sal. The temperate tussar is
also known as oak tussar as the worms feed on many species of Oak (Quercus spp). Tussar silk is
cop perish and much stronger. Tropical tussar is produced in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya
Pradesh, Orissa and Bihar and to a small extent in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
Oak tussar is cultivated in the sub-Himalayan belt covering the States of Manipur, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu & Kashmir.

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 Eri Silk: This silk is produced from the open-ended cocoons of the domesticated silkworm called
Samia Ricina & Philosamia Ricina which are native to Assam. It is also referred to as ahimsa silk
as it is produced without killing the silkworm. That is why the Buddhist monks.

 Muga silk: Muga silk is obtained from the silk insect, Antheraea Asama, which looks similar to
the tussar silk insects. It is multivoltine with 5 to 6 broods per annum and feeds on a wide range of
species of food plants, important of which are Som and Soalu. Though the silkworms are grown
outdoors on the trees, mature Silkworms crawl down the trees when they are picked up and placed
on dry twigs serving as montages indoors. This is cultivated extensively and almost exclusively in
Assam and a few north-eastern states. The cocoons are fawn colored while the reeled silk is of
golden yellow.

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3. The Silk City- Bhagalpur

Bhagalpur is known as silk city as it is famous worldwide for its silk production. The silk industry in the
city is 200 of years old and a whole clan exist that has been producing silk for generations. There is a Silk
Institute and Agriculture College there, as well as a University and Engineering, Medical and Homeopath
Colleges.

Bhagalpur, a city in Bihar state, is situated on the Ganges River, 120 miles southeast of Patna. Bhagalpur
is a road and railroad junction and the trading center for a fertile area in which rice, wheat, corn, barley,

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oilseeds, and sugarcane are the chief corps. The city has rice and sugar mills, and silk- and wool- weaving
factories, and it is a distribution center for hemp narcotics. A silk culture institute and an agricultural
research station are located there.
Considered as the biggest trade centre of Eastern India, Bhagalpur is known for its unique silk fabrics
called ‘Tussah or Tussar’. Silk weaving is an age old tradition- date back to a period more than 100 years.
Fabrics produced in the city are famous both at the domestic and the international market and has been
named as the Silk City due to its popularity for Bhagalpuri silk.

4. Pre-Process of Weaving

This stage prepares the finalized yarn to undergo the rigors and strain of the weaving process. Throughout
these steps, the freshly stretched yarn is inspected, treated and stretched onto the loom, so that it can begin
its transformation into one of our high-quality home textile products

 Designing: The master craftsmen select the drawings. The design is mainly variations of weave
and color.
4.1. Preparation of Raw Material

This is a long process that can also be divided into certain steps;

 Reeling silk: Cocoons are firstly sorted and then the good ones are boiled in water with some
amount of soda for 1/2 to 2 hours. After boiling, the silk strands are unwounded onto bamboo
spools. Workers use their bare thighs to draw out a single filament of silk from the cocoons.
 Throwing: Spools are transferred to skeins, which after drying, are reeled on bobbin to make a
thicker, stronger and multi-thread yarns. Around 10 skeins are twisted together and continued the
process of throwing.
 Dying: The natural dyes are commonly used for dyeing Tussar silk. While the process of dyeing is
similar for all colours, mordants are used differently for specific colours. The dye is extracted by
boiling the ingredient in water and straining the solution. The dye is applied to wet skeins and then
the skeins are mordanted to fix the dye. At last, the yarns are washed with Reetha powder.

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4.2. Weaving

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After the products are weaved and completed with the designs, they are finished properly so that they
are ready to wear. Once the products are finished, they are sold to the whole-sellers. Now the whole-
sellers sell the products to the retailers. Some of them also send the products to Kolkata, Bangalore
and Delhi. Then these products are further taken for foreign exports from these cities. The sarees with
madhubani painting on it are highly in demand in foreign countries.
As said by one of the artisan while having a talk on phone call
“If you buy this saree from this market, you’ll get in Rs.3200 but if you buy the same saree from
Bangalore market or even Patna you will get this at no less than Rs.12000-16000.”

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4.3. Parts of Loom
 Shuttle: It is made of wood and iron. It is mostly of 14 inches or 9 inches. It carries the holder
that carries the thread of the weft yarn while weaving. Shuttles are used to pass threads back
and forth through the shed, between the yarn threads of warp in order to weave in the weft.
 Reed: It is part of loom which resembles a comb. There are 68 dents in 1 inch of the reed. It is
to separate and space the warp threads.
 Lease Rod: Rods that keep the lease orderly during separation of warp threads. They separate
the warp yarns forming a shed.
 Warp: The vertical threads in the loom are called warp.
 Weft: The horizontal threads in the loom are called weft.
 Paddle: Wooden paddles in pit-loom which they handle using feet. It is for formation of shed
of warp yarns.
 Bobbin: A cylindrical type structure made of wood or plastic. It is used to wrap threads.
 Cloth Beam: A roller at the front of the loom on which the woven material is wrapped.
 Warp Beam: A roller at the back of the loom on which warp ends are wrapped.

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 4.4. Dressing the Loom

The set of thread attached to the loom lengthwise is know as warp. Warping is the process of making the
base yarn that runs along in the lengthwise direction in the fabric throughout in which the weft yarn are
filled to make a complete fabric. Setting the loom includes 4-5 family members all together. It takes 2-3
days to set the whole loom. The passing of warp ends through the heald eye takes almost 8-9 hours. Each
and every individual warp thread are drawn through heddles taken though a set of needle and are tied on
to the beams which is placed on both ends of the loom. This heddle separates the warp into section of two
that allows the weft to pass in between easily.

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The task of dressing the whole loom is considered as tedious work. A proper tension of each warp yarn is
maintained throughout the process. According to the designs for the silk fabric to be made, the warp yarns
are decided. We have noticed, in almost every design the Korean yarns are used as warp yarns. The
reason why they are used the most, is because of the translucent nature and higher strength. The
translucent nature of the warp yarn gives the fabric an even and more colorful tone. As the strength of the
warp yarn is a must need, Korean silk fulfills the demand here. China silk is quite fine and increases the
cost. The borders are made mostly using the Zari threads which they buy from market. The thickness of
the border varies according to the design.

4.5. Weft Winding & Weaving the Fabric

 Weft winding: The yarn used for weft are wound into the bobbin or pirn and then inserted into
shuttle. Ghicha silk and tussar silk are mostly used as weft yarn
 Weaving the Fabric: This process of interlacing of two yarn is known as weaving. The looms
used for weaving are handlooms. It is run without the use of electricity or other fuel. The throwing
of the shuttle which carries the weft yarn is fitted to sync with pedals to lift the warp. Then,
beating is done and the process continues. The weaving is done on minimum 4 and maximum 8
shaft. A weaver weaves between half a meter and five meters of fabric in a day.

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After the products are weaved and completed with the designs, they are finished properly so that they are
ready to wear. Once the products are finished, they are sold to the whole-sellers. Now the whole-sellers
sell the products to the retailers. Some of them also send the products to Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi.
Then these products are further taken for foreign exports from these cities. The sarees with madhubani
painting on it are highly in demand in foreign countries.

4.6. Yarn Variety and Costing

 China Tussar: Tussar variety that is imported from China. 2 variants – 33 /37 D , 50/70 D.
 Khewa/ Desi tussar: Thickness of tussar in the cocoon varies. The middle portion comprising
of 60% of fibre is of similar thickness. This 60% fibre reeled from 5-6 undamaged tussar
cocoons is called Khewa.
 Ghicha: Thigh reeled yarn from 20 pierced tussar cocoons.
 Katiya: Yarn reeled from remaining 40% of undamaged tussar cocoons.
 Dupion-Malda & Bangalore: Mulberry silk reeled from double cocoons; It is rough and
irregular Malda Dupion is light in weight, more fluffy and higher in price by 300/- compared
to Bangalore Dupion; So used to make light weighted dupion sarees.
 Bhagalpur Eri: Silk yarn prepared from a mix of reeled mulberry silk and spun mulberry silk.
 Moonga: Spun china tussar yarn is called Moonga in Bhagalpur; not to be confused with
Assam Muga silk.
 Staple viscose: Regenerated cellulose fibre is referred to as staple in Bhagalpur.
 Cotton: Mercerised cotton of 100s count is used in Bhagalpur sarees.
 Linen: Linen of count 60 s and 80s, 1/2 ply is used in Bhagalpur sarees.

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  Noil silk: Yarn spun from the short fibre waste produced during the making of spun silk.
 Matka: Spun yarn prepared from the pierced cocoons /wastage of mulberry silk. Earlier they
used to spin the yarn with the help of a matka and so is the name.
 Price: The price range of the products varies from factory (directly from the weavers or
mahajan) to the market depending upon the types of fabric and design.
 Silk sarees factory price: Rs.600 to Rs.5000 Local Market- Rs.2000 to Rs.7000.
 Cotton sarees factory price: Rs.300 to Rs.500 Local Market- Rs.300 to Rs.800.
 Silk dupattas factory price: Rs.400 to Rs.1000 Local Market- Rs.500 to Rs.2000.
 Cotton dupattas factory price: Rs.50 to Rs.150 Local Market- Rs.120 to Rs.300.
 Silk shirting and suiting fabricsFactory price- Rs.400 to Rs.1000/m Local Market- Rs.500
to Rs.2000/m.
 Cotton/linen factory price: Rs.50 to Rs.800/m Local Market- Rs.150 to Rs.1000/m.

5. Artisans Awareness Workshop (AAW), 2021

5.1. Day 1: Agendas on 27th May 2021

Time 10 am- 1 pm:

The august programme started with the inaugural speech with Prof. Sanjay Srivastava, Director, NIFT-
Patna, along with other distinguished person; Dr. Rishikesh Kumar, CIC, NIFT-Patna, Mr. Vinayak
Yashraj, CAC, NIFT-Patna along with luminous presence of all the Centre Coordinators, faculties,
students and staffs of NIFT, Patna.
Time 2 pm- 5 pm:
The artisanal awareness workshop was a way to open a small dialogue between textile design students
and artisans who specialise in traditional techniques related to textiles. We held a small interactive session
on natural dyeing and eco printing to introduce the artisans to the potential in these fields and how they
could possibly be incorporated with their existing set up to create products. This segment was conducted
by Kunal Singha, Dr. Pintu Pandit, Ms. Rajni Srivastava, Mr. Jayant Kumar and Mr. Lokesh Kumar (all
are working as Assistant Professor at department of Textile Design at NIFT-Patna, Bihar, India) on 27-
29th may 2021. Along with the TD-6 semester textile design students.
Mr. Tanay Arora who works on natural dyes and eco printing. The practical demonstration for natural
dyeing showed how onion peel could be used to dye fabrics to give yellow and green colours. The first

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stop of the process is fabric preparation which involves steps like de-gumming and scouring. This helps to
remove impurities from the material and improves the fabric’s ability to pick up dye.
Mordanting: This is an extremely important step in natural dyeing and we explained mordanting fabric
using Alum (potassium aluminium sulphate). Alum is easily available in most regions and villages and is
a very reliable mordant. The mordanting process involved boiling water and mixing alum powder in the
vessel; later adding fabric and heating for 1 hour-3 hours. The onion peel was soaked overnight in water
and boiled in the morning for 30 minutes. After an hour the solution was filtered to get a clean dye bath
free of any peels. The pre mordanted fabric was added to the dye bath and heated on the stove for 45-60
minutes. After the dye bath cooled, the fabric was a beautiful green that is achieved from pink onion
peels. Interaction after demonstration: The artisans were mostly curious about what all sources of colours
were available around them. We gave them the idea of using hibiscus, marigold and roses that are used in
temples around them, Temple waste has a lot of potential to be used for dyeing fabric. Onion peel,
madder root, indigo, sappan wood were some other options which we introduced to the artisans. Eco
printing is a method of creating prints from different parts of the plants. It is not a new method but one
that has started to resurface on a larger scale in recent years. The mordanting process for eco printing is
the same as natural dyeing and is done using alum. We demonstrated eco printing using rose leaves,
guava leaves, onion peel, madder root which are all commonly available in villages and different cities.
The artisans had never seen eco-printing before so they were curious and wanted to try it out for
themselves. Due to limitations of the online interaction, we couldn’t teach the artisans physically,
however they do wish to try out these techniques in a workshop after the pandemic ends. We look
forward to visiting these artisans and collaborating on products that are made using natural dyes and eco
printing techniques.
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 5.2. Day 2: Agendas on 28th May 2021

Time 10 am- 2 pm:

The session of 28th May, 2021 was accomplished successfully with an interaction of TD 6 semester
students led by Mr. Kumar Rohit and Ms. Rupal Srivastava, with a fruitful interaction with the artisans on
various latest techniques of weaving in handloom and new innovative ways etc. The faculties and other
TD 6 students from textile design was actively participated and interacted with the invited artisans.
Time 2 pm- 5 pm:
The session continues with the discussion and interaction on surface embellishment before and after
weaving, dyeing and printing, eco-friendly and sustainable dyeing etc. The live online demonstration was
performed by TD 6 students to make the session more comprehensible and interesting. The session ended
with taking the Q7A from the artisans and students.

5.3. Day 3: Agendas on 29th May 2021

Time 10 am- 1 pm:

The session started with the expert lecture on the possible ways of marketing of craft and handloom
products, by Mr. Vikas Kunj who is serving as craft expert in Bihar for more than ten years now. The
interactions with the artisan and students were found very successful as outcome.
Time 2 pm- 5 pm:
The session was successfully finished with the exploration of various applications on modern-based
textile innovations and design ideation on weaving and technical textiles The interactions with the
artisan and students were found very successful as outcome. The session was led by Kunal Singha, Dr.
Pintu Pandit, Ms. Rajni Srivastava, Mr. Jayant Kumar and Mr. Lokesh Kumar (all are working as
Assistant Professor at department of Textile Design at NIFT-Patna, Bihar, India). The session and AAW
21 was concluded successfully after taking all the feedback from the invited artisans and by giving vote of
thanks by Kunal Singha, Assistant Professor and Centre Coordinator, Dept. of Textile Design, NIFT-
Patna.

6. Interview Sessions with the Invited Artisans in AAW 21

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Interviews are a crucial part of how we gain knowledge about the life of the artisans in the villages of
Bhagalpur. Due to the ongoing pandemic and Covid restrictions, the craft cluster has been conducted
through online mediums. The followings are the top-pics from the interview sessions in AAW-21.
Mr. Sunil Kumar, Master artisan from Nath Nagar, Bhagalpur, Bihar
Sunil Kumar is also one of 7 brothers who do weaving in Bhagalpur. He learnt weaving from his father
when he was young and has been doing it for a few years now. He can speak and understand Hindi,
Bhojpuri, Urdu. He studied till 5th class and proceeded to learn ‘Taane ka kaam’ after that. He was
trained by his father and he has been working full time on the loom for approximately 10 years now.
He arranges his yarns from Dhanbad near the Jharkhand border as well. The weaving process and the
rates are the same as well, the ‘majduri’ rates are low and that’s a concern for him. He started to
financially struggle a lot during the pandemic. With no work around, he stopped operating his loom and
started driving. He is currently driving to make ends meet. He might start weaving after things get better
but for now, he doesn’t think working on the loom will help him earn money.
A 31-year-old Sunil Kumar picked up our call and he seemed like a friendly per- son. A father to three
children, he is one of the 7 brothers who do hand-loom related work. He is sending his children to school
because he wants them to be educated and be able to make a better living. He mentions that weaving is a
hard life and he often finds it hard to make ends meet. He can speak and understand Hindi, Bhojpuri,
Urdu and some Bengali. He studied till 5th class and proceeded to learn ‘Taane ka kaam’ after that. He
was trained by his father and he has been working full time on the loom for 10 years now. His current
hand-loom is 20 years old and belongs to his father. He said it still works fine and he can ’t change it this
year considering the pandemic situation. He says that weaving a saree takes him 5-6 hours and he makes
1 or 1.5 sarees in a day, anything more cannot be done by him without getting overworked. He gets his
‘Taana’/warps from Dhanbad near the Jharkhand border.
Mr. Vinod Kumar, Master artisan from Miranchak, Bhagalpur, Bihar
There are a lot of people that sell yarns in Bhagalpurand he didn’t struggle to find sellers even in the
pandemic. He mentions that when rates of sale are good, he buys yarns and would sell the fabric to
customers directly. This leads to better profits but most of the time he gets free yarn and is paid a fixed
price (Majduri) to weave the fabric which is around 300 Indian rupees. He mentions that the season
around Diwali is the busiest time of the year with the most sales, however this year sales weren’t good
even around Diwali. Talking about his hardships, he says that he hasn’t been given any government help
since the past 2-3 years. He wishes that some government assistance is provided because the pandemic

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has caused a lot of financial troubles. He further talked a little about health issues related to the work he
does every day. He mentions the back issues from all the bending on the loom and says that he gets cuts
on his hands a lot which sting while working.
Md. Afzal Alam Ansari, Master artisan from Miranchak, Bhagalpur, Bihar
Md. Afzal Alam Ansari was the first weaver that interacted with me and overall, we had a 29-minute-long
phone conversation. He said that everyone around him was in good health but the Pandemic has made life
very hard for him.
Mr. Ansari said that one saree on the loom takes him about 1 day (5-6 hours) and it causes a lot of back
issues. The warps and yarns are bought from a location near the Bihar Jharkhand border which he called
as “Mahajan village’ which is 6-7 kms from his village.
The weavers are paid for their ‘Masduri’ which means that the yarns and warps are given to them free of
cost and they are paid to make the saree. This to us sounds like a system where there is a presence of a
middle man since the weavers don’t sell the end fabric in the market. The weaver gets around 300 rupees
per saree which is a small price compared to the final market sale price of the fabric.
Mr. Kamlesh Kumar, Master artisan from Nepura, Nalanda, Bihar
During lock-down the cost of ‘Nepura’ has gone down to 200-250 rupees which is less but the weaver said
they have no option so they work whenever they can work. Pre-lockdown the weaver mentioned that he
could earn around 9000 for the 30 sarees he weaves in a day. Out of this 5000 is used up for house
activities leaving behind a mere 4000. Mr. Kamlesh doesn’t have much savings and the amount he
had has gone away since the pandemic started. He mentioned that hand-loom work around him has
stopped since a month (October end to November end). He says the 20 hand-looms in his area sit idle
with no one to operate them because of lack of work. His voice sounds uncertain as he asks me if I work
in connection with the government and further inquiries what will be done with the information gathered
from this conversation. I don’t say much except for making it clear that all information will be kept
confidential in-case we decide to use it for any ‘public’ purpose.
Mr. Akilesh Kumar, Master artisan from Nepura, Nalanda, Bihar
Mr. Akilesh Kumar elaborated that about 1000-1200 rupees go back into maintaining and operating his
loom and other work that might be needed to make the fabric.
He proudly mentions that he bought a new loom around 6-7 years ago. He was trained to operate it at the
village near Jharkhand where he buys yarn as well. Mr. Akilesh makes old traditional patterns on his

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loom, or any pattern that he’s told to do by the people that give him yarn in Mahajan. He mentions that in
2014-2016 some new designs were made on the saree and they still make those.
He is well aware that the fabric fetches a very high price abroad but he also says that he rarely gets to
directly sell to customers but now unable to do that since the pandemic started.
He lacks any knowledge of computers and doesn’t use his smart phone for anything beyond calling. He
was last given some government assistance back in 2013-2014 and no assistance has been provided in the
lockdown. When asked out current problems he says that he faces some issues with procuring yarns and
beyond that he just wants things to get better and sales to increase after the pandemic is over.

7. Questionnaire Asked to the Artisans

These are key take-away from the interaction and online interaction and interview session to the invited
artisans and TD 6 semester students,
A. Does the government provide any funds for your job as an artisan?
Ans- The funds we receive from the government are usually for the production costs, machinery, location
and materials, and sometimes living expenses through various schemes, however, those are not very
consistent and sometimes not very reliable.
B. Do you want to pass on your knowledge to your children and expect them to continue towards
this profession, as a legacy for your family?
Ans- Looking back at our life where we barely had food and roof for us, we don't think we should expect
our children to carry on the art, as we wish a better financial future for them than we ever did. However, I
do wish for the art to not die out as well.
C. Can you sustain your finances with the income you earn? What other means do you earn from, if
any?
Ans- Due to involvement of the third party in the business, who typically handles the negotiations,
transport and selling, It is very difficult for us to sustain our living, as the selling price we sell it for is far
less than what the third party sells out to the world, which is lot expensive than we initially sell it for. So,
we tend to get below average income. As for side earning, we do not have any means to do so.
D. What is your average annual income from this profession?
Ans- Average monthly income can be from INR 14000-15000. However, it can occasionally go from INR
20000-25000, when the whole family is involved in the process, when produced on a larger scale.

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F. Are you willing to directly participate in the business where you can sell your own products,
without involving the middle person or Mahajans who usually handles such businesses?
Ans- Yes, gladly. As mentioned earlier, we can't get an income which is equal to what it's worth right
now at this state of bus

8. Strategic solutions provided by Department of Textile Design, NIFT-Patna

8.1. Internal Planning Tool: SWOT Analysis (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats)

To analysis carefully of SWOT of craft and its business by analysis the following;

Strengths

 Traditional preference for silk sarees by the higher income group.

 Availability of skilled Handloom weavers.
 High demand of value-added handloom silk sarees in metro cities like New Delhi, Kolkata,
Patna.

Weaknesses

 Highly unorganized Cluster.

 Inadequate infrastructural Facilities at Bhagalpur.
 Lack of upgraded and improved Technology. Irregular work for weavers.
 Low credit.
 Lack of printing and dying facilities.
 Costlier products can only affordable by higher income group.
 Unavailability of raw materials like cocoons, and yarns at reasonable prices.

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  Lack of strong market network for domestic as well as international market.
 Lack of latest design availability for value additional products.

Opportunities

 Very good export potential for home furnishing value added made ups in the selected overseas
countries.
 Brand building for Handloom silk value added products in the domestic market as well as in
the international market.
 Product diversification like that of home furnishing value added made ups.
 Very large Indian market for branded silk products as the present high growth of retail sales in
India.

Threats

 Biggest threat from the power loom sector

 Threat from silk products from china and Mulberry silk products from Karnataka and other
southern states.
 Weavers are day by day taking up other profession due to inadequate weaving job and wages.
9. Schemes for Weavers

By carefully analysis and look out for the various Governmental scheme already available and launched
for the artisans and to take the maximum help and boosting up the handloom and handicraft business. The
schemes such as the following;

 Integrated handloom development scheme

 Work shed-cum-housing Scheme
 Thrift fund scheme for handloom weavers
 Group Insurance scheme for handloom weavers
 New Insurance scheme for handloom weavers
 Health package scheme for handloom weavers

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  Scheme for marketing of handloom products through exhibition and fairs (District level
fairs/festivals, craft melas etc.)
 Handloom weaver’s comprehensive welfare scheme This scheme is having two components:
 Health Insurance Scheme
 Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana
 Deen Dayal Hathkargha Protsahan Yojana
 Integrated Handloom cluster development scheme
 Handloom Input Scheme Components of scheme:
 Mill Gate Price Scheme
 Hank Yarn Price Subsidy
10. Conclusions

Handloom sector is not new for independent India. It has been in existence even before independence.
There was a time when it would fulfill the need and stomach of many and nowadays unfortunately it is
looking for its existence. Bhagalpur, once known as the silk city of India due to its silk products and
obviously that was due to the hard work of weavers. But the condition of weavers in present is so much so
pathetic and grim that it is tough to believe that it was once known as silk city. The village craftsmen are
gradually losing interest in their traditional business. The marketing intermediaries like agents and
brokers are collecting the products at a very low price and selling or exporting those at a very high rate.
They are also not paying them their dues in time.
During this AAW 21 documentation, we came to know about the joys and grievances of working with
this craft. These artisans are very skilled and create beautiful products but their hard work does not
receive appropriate rewards. We also studied the problem that the weavers are facing in this craft.

In conclusion to a truly educating journey we would like to mention that the craft cluster not only
broadened our area of knowledge but also helped us understand the life and culture of these small yet
proud communities.

References

1. Ahmad, Q(1976): Aspects of Historical Geography of Medieval Bihar, Indian Historical Review,
Vol. 15, No. 1, p.68

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2. Barnard,Nicholas(1993):ArtsandCraftsof India , Conran Octopus Limited, London, p.14
3. Niranjana, S., 2001. Appraising the Indian handloom industry. Economic and Political Weekly,
pp.4248-4250.
4. Handlloom Industry in India, download from http://texmin.nic.in/pdf/ar03_c05.pdf, on
09.06.2021, at 6.50 pm IST.
5. Saris of India: Tradition and Beyond Hardcover- Illustrated, Martand Singh, Rta Kapur Chishti,
Lustre; Reprint edition, India.

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