CHAPTER-II
HANDLOOM INDUSTRY NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS
IX
CHAPTER
HANDLOOM INDUSTRY - NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS
History of Handloom Industry/?)
It is not known with certainty when weaving was first
adopted
by
established
before
our
ancestors.
However,
it
has
already
been
that weaving was known about eight thousand
Christ.* In history, there are evidences to
years
show
that
the Indians knew the art of weaving for more than five thousand
years.
The fact that Egyptian mummies of five
thousand
years
old (3000 Before Christ) are found wrapped in Indian silks
muslins of the finest weavers, proves the high artistic
of
Indian weavers in the past. 2 India has been a
cotton-cloth
of
superior
quality
and
repute
Skills
producer
from
immemorial and generally regarded as the birth place of
and
of
time
cotton
3
manufacturer . Banaras brocades and damasks, Baluchuri, Butidar
sarees
and Scarfs, fine muslins of Dacca, Jamadani Sarees have
been world wide demand. A piece of muslin twenty yard long
and
one
and
yard wide, could be made to pass through a finer ring
requires six months to manufacture.
1.
2.
3.
4.
4
Banerjee, N^JI. , Weaving Mechanism, volume I, Textile Book
House, Berhamjtur, p.26.
Anjaneyalu, G. , Financial Management in the Co-operative
Handloom Industry, Classical Publishing Company, New Delhi,
1990, p.5.
Council for Scientific & Industrial Research. The wealth of
India, New Delhi, 1957, Part IV, p.207.
Dass, C., Handloom Textiles Reflects our Cultural Heritage,
Deccan Chronicle, 3 Nov., 1980, p.12.
26
Historical
the
oldest
is
in
at
craft
"Mohenzodaro"
Indians
accounts also prove that hand-weaving
as
and
India.
"Harappa”
The
also
relics
prove
discovered
beyond
doubt
early as 5000 B.C. were Stalwarts in
hand-weaving and dyeing of cloth.
travelogues
of
Macropola,
Fahiyan,
5
Huan
the
that
art
of
Mention has been made in the
Tsang,
Warthine,
Bermier,
and others about the glory of handloom industry
in
India in olden days.** The age-old glory of handloom industry is
testified
by
the number of Indian textile
into english language: Chintz, palampore,
Dengree, Shawl and so on.
In
the
understanding
terms
assimilated
pajama,
seersucker,
7
vedic
age,
it
is
found
of spinning and weaving.
a remarkable
In the ageof
Ramayan
and Mahabharata, the art of weaving reached a high standard
perfection
textiles
and
of
beauty.
The appreciation
the Hindus met its climax
of
fine
of
arts
and
during the regime
of
Mughal Emperors. Dacca Muslins and Silk dictated the fashion of
the Asian and European aristocrats upto the end of the eighteen
century,
only.
and
even then, it was within the reach of
the
rich
Higher counts of cotton yarn were recorded to have
been
B
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ft
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wa
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(0 3
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spun by ladies, simply manipulating their fingers with the help
Chicago, 1966, vol. 22,
27
of a very simple instrument known as 'Takli' before and
during
the Mughal age.**
Nature of Handloom Industry :
Fabrics, made
called
braiding, are
textiles. The term "textile" is derived from the
"texere"; which
interlacement
to
by weaving, knitting or
means
to weave.
9
\i
Wearing is
of the warp and the weft in a
the
Latin
process
fabric
of
according
a design. A loom is a weaving machine. A loom is termed
as
'handloom' when it is actuated by human power. A handloom is
simple
piece
machine. It can be adjusted to weave from simple
of
fabric to a varied or complex,
figured
or
a
plain
pattern
fabric.
Organisational Structure of Handloom Industry s
Handloom
units are organised mainly in
three
ways.
This is depicted in chart 2.1.
Chart 2.1 : Organisational Pattern of Handlooms
I
I
Private Sector
I
•
<
o
•
.
CTi
K)
0*0
.
®
•0
N)'
s
u.
.
I-*-
rt rt rt
0 ^ 0H h
t
j
DO.
.
oa
>o
•
o
o,,
•
•
.
•
•
Z T3
OZ
ztu® as
.
3
(DO®
® *< ®
O>
<
t
>
PI i
<
i
_j
3 Z 3
®
03
Z
o
r-
04
o
h
.
to
I
Public Sector
i
Master
weavers
CO
.
oo
Si 1C 91
I
Independent
weavers
I
Co-operative
sector
28
Independent-weavers
An
independent
weaver
is
one
who
owns
establishment,
purchases raw materials by himself,
production
his
family,
it
on
and markets
directly
finance
own with the help of the
his
undertakes
members
of
his product in the local market, or
to the cloth merchant or dealer.
own
The
his
sells
necessary
may be provided by him out of his own resources or
by
borrowing. He is completely free to organise his production
in
such a way as to maximise his profits without the
intervention
of any outside agency.
^J)
Master weavers
A master weaver is similar to the own account
in many respects, except that
worker
he employs outside labour in his
establishments
for weaving. He and the members of
may also work
in the establishment, but, in addition, there
some
his
family
outsidelabour employed. Two types of master-weavers
is
can
be distinguished.
1)
The
first type exercise proprietory rights over
the
establishments.
2)
The
second type does not own any establishment,
but
supplies the raw material to out workers and receives
the finished product.
11. NCAER : Survey of Handloom Industry in Karnataka
Sholapur, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1959, p.9.
and
29
Often
person
the
concerned
two
types
are
combined
so
would own his own establishment
that
and
the
engage
directly in production, and, at the same time, provide Yarn
cash
or
both
products.
known
in
The
to
out-workers
system
and
receive
the
of advancing Yarn or cash
finished
or
both
as the 'Mungada' system in Karnataka and is very
practice.
strictly
be
themselves
in
The
second category
called weavers
production.
since
of
Many among
no
them
longer
had
order
to
mas ter-weavers
their
the
concentrate on trading in Yarn
let
the weavers work at their
cannot
engage
their
establishments in the past, but they have now given up
in
and
own
weaving
Cloth. Such
residence
own looms and other appliances. Consequently,
work done without incurring the cost of loom
is
widely
master-weavers
they
or
with
they
and
get
working
sheds,
etc. This is indeed analogous to the "Domestic
system" jp'
which
prevailed
before
in
industrial revolution.
the
English
textile
industry
12
Co-operative Sector /:)
The
centralised
co-operative
production
master-weavers,
own
or,
society
may
as with the
either
second
undertake
category
advance Yarn to the members, who work in
households, and receive the finished products from
of
this
them.
However, very few societies undertake centralised production.
12. Government of India : Report of the Fact-Finding Committee
(Handloom and Mills), New Delhi, 1942, p.71.
30
Public Sector
This new sector in the handloom industry in Karnataka
came
into the picture with the establishment of the
Handloom
objective
Development
Corporation in the year
1975
of protecting the weavers from the
Karnataka
with
the
exploitation
by
master-weavers.
The
coming
information
relating
to the
number
of
looms
under various sectors at Guledgudda and Ilkal is
shown
in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1
T
o
Distribution of Handlooms by the type of organisation
Type of
organisation
A)
No. of looms
in Ilkal
No. of looms
in Guledgudd
946(15.82)
489(10.89)
3837(64.20)
3967(88.31)
Private sector
a) Independent weavers
b) Master weavers
B)
Co-operative sector
912(15.25)
C)
Public sector
283 (4.13)
Nil
36(0.80)
5978(100)
Total
Nil
4492(100)
Note: Figures in parantheses denote percentages to total figures.
Source : Field survey.
Importance of Handloom Weaving
Weaving
artistic
is
the
kJ
most important and
crafts and forms an integral part
of
useful
human
of
all
civili-
31
sation.
This
necessity
and
is
true
in
consideration
of
universality,
value of production to human society.
This
also true in consideration that one-fifth of the working
is
world
is engaged in weaving and in its various branches. The patience
and preservance required for handloom weaving have
to
contributed
enrich habits and character of those who have been
engaged
in this art for generations. Modern culture is no less indebted
to this noble and dignified art which has been professed from a
craft
an ordinary man in different ages of
has also accounted for a vast amount of
ingenuity
both
history. This
invention and
of mechanical and artistic kinds. It
must
remembered that the necessity of clothing is only next to
of Fooding.
be
that
13
Weaving
is a way of life for many people
in
India.
The handloom products are not mere pieces of decoration but also
a
source
of livelihood to several millions
of
artisans
their families all over the world. Till the ninteenth
when
there were no machines for the production of
and
century,
cloth,
the
handloom industry was the sole supplier of cloth for the entire
needs of world. Notwithstanding the fact that the handloom
seemingly an out-dated tool of cloth production in this
is
space-
age, most people the world over still look at it as a symbol of
the glorious past of the entire human race.
13. Banerjee, N.N., op.cit., p.24.
14. Anjaneyalu, G. op. cit., p.I.
14
(J
32
Types of Products
(tj
Handlooms
classified
into
products
in Bijapur district
are
two categories, viz., sarees and
mainly
khanas.
In
case of Sarees, there are five sub-categories:
1.
Pure-silk sarees,
2.
Silk with cotton sarees (9 yards)
3.
Silk with cotton sarees (6 yards)
4.
Art-silk with cotton sarees (9 yards)
5.
Art-silk with cotton sarees (6 yards).
Among these five sub-categories, there are as many as
50 to 60 varieties sarees. Some of the varieties are associated
with
a particular type of design in their grounds, some
are
associated
borders
and
with
a particular type
of
design
some are known by the types of yarn
in
names
their
utilised
in
them.
I)
Names
of sarees associated with designs in
their
are:
I)
3)
5)
7)
9)
II)
13)
15)
17)
Plain
Kaddi
Gurba choukan
Putali
Raghawali
Rikka
Pancharangi kaddi
Gayatri
Chaya shirting
2)
4)
6)
8)
10)
12)
14)
16)
18)
Rasta
Kondi-chikki
Shirting
Yelluwa Chendrakali
Zebra
Dafaia
Patanga
Chadurang chikki
Madap kaddi
grounds
33
PLATE
1 : PURE-SILK SAREES
34
PLATE
PLATE
2 : SILK WITH COTTON SAREES
3 : ART-SILK WITH COTTON SAREES
35
II) Names of sarees associated with a particular type of design
m their borders :
1)
3)
5)
Gomi
Chikki Faras
Dharwad type border
(Rui-phool)
III)
Names
of
2)
4)
6)
7)
Faras
Zari Faras
Zangodela Faras
Satin border.
sarees associated with a
particular
type
of
produced
at
varieties
of
design in their heading or varieties in Heading :
1)
2)
Top-Tene Sheragu (Heading)
Top Sheragu (Heading)
Kinds of Products (Khanas) :
There
are mainly three types of khanas
Guledgudd. They are :
1)
2)
3)
Silk with 60 count cotton yarn
Silk with 40 count cotton yarn
Bomber with 60 count cotton yarn.
There, as
khanas, are
produced
many as 40 to 50 attractive
with different yarns
and
colours.
important varieties are :
1)
3)
5)
7)
9)
11)
13)
15)
17)
19)
21)
Chitramala
Warshal1
Anl-Navilu
Hattikolu
Small Haradi
Ani-Teru
Gejji
Rudrakshi
Rashi
Nava1parl
Hubbli suti
2)
4)
6)
8)
10)
12)
14)
16)
18)
20)
22)
Surya Narayan
Shiddeshwar
Joomal l
Mukata
Big Haradi
Chadurang
Keshmi
Banasi
Hun ja
Tulsipan
Tiruki Kavale.
The
36
PLATE
PLATE
4 : SILK KHANAS
5 : BOMBER KHANAS
37
Types of Looms i
A loom is a weaving machine. It is nothing more
than
a frame to hold parallel threads, called warp, at a tension
such
a
way
that other threads, called
weft,
can
be
m
woven
accross them to make cloth. "A loom is termed a 'handloom* when
it is actuated by human power.
15
/
Depending on the structure and technical working, the
handlooms
m
Bijapur District can be
classified
into
three
types•
1) Through-shut tie pit looms,
2) Fly-shuttle pit looms, and
3) Fly-shuttle frame looms.
Through-shuttle pit looms i
This
picking
hand.
is
The
type
of loom stands on a pit
and
done by throwing the shuttle across
process
the
loom occupies across very little space.
shed
This
of
by
loom
offers an unlimited scope for fabric having a large variety
of
extra weft designs.
In
this
loom,
weaver throws
a
shuttle
from
one
selvedge across the width of the cloth by one hand, and catches
the
same at the opposite selvedge end by the other hand.
operation is repeated so long as the entire piece of fabric
This
is
15. H. Tidoll, The Weaver's Book s Fundamentals of Handweaving
New York, Macmillan Company, 1961, p.4.
16. U Paul, S. Directory of Mass Employment, New Delhi.
Economic and Scientific Research Foundation, 1978,-p 166.
38
PLATE
6
:
LOOM
39
woven up. This loom is generally created by sinking the
frames
m the ground, and the treadles work inside a pit by feet. This
loom
had been known to be m use m India 5000 to
6000
years
B.C.*^ Its production is considerable low, i.e., 5 to 7
meters
per day of eight working hours.
/
/
Fly-shuttle pit-looms :
In 1733 A D., John kay of Bury, England, invented the
fly-shuttle. This invention was an extremely important event in
the history and development of weaving.
In
18
a fly-shuttle pit loom, the shuttle is
propelled
by hammers placed at the ends of the lathe (the swing frame
a
loom carrying the reed for separating the warp
beating
rapidly.
main
up
19
the
weft),
and thus weaving
can
It is the most popular handloom m
threads
be
and
done
more
Karnataka.
advantage of a fly-shuttle pit loom is that its
of
The
rate
of-
of the looms in Bijapur District have a pit
at
production is high.
3) Fly-shuttle Frame looms :
Most
the back for the sitting convenience of the weaver. As the
pit
is a source of dust and dirt, it is desirable to place the loom
on a frame.
17
18
19
20
20
A fly shuttle frame loom is made of heavy
wooden
Banerjee, N. N., op. cit., p.29, 1978,
Ibid., p.31.
Report of the Facts Finding Committee, op cit , p 83
Ibid., page 33.
t
40
framing
fitted
having
on
an overhung or underhung slay.
the
floor
either with
fixed
This
pegs
dismentlmg and adjustment with moveable pegs.
or
loom
for
is
easy
21 It has greater
capacity to weave simple designs. The mam disadvantage is that
it occupies more space and also costs more than a pit loom
and
is not easy to operate.
Processes of Production :
Handloom
processes.
weaving
involves
a
number
These processes involve, pre-weaving,
of
laborious
weaving
and
post-weaving activities.
The
chart
displays
the
different
processing
operations in weaving.
Process of production
I
Pre-weaving
I
1— Dyeing
I
Weaving
I
I— Loosening and
I
Unwinding
I
l— Warping
I
I— Pirn Winding
I
|— Sizing
I
I— Reeding
21
Banerjee, N.N., op.cit., pp.33-34.
I
Post-weaving
I
----------
I
Finishing
I
Marketing
41
Dyeing
(C)
It
is
an
acknowledged
fact
based
on
the
past
experience that the preparation of dyes is a work of skill. But
with
the use of chemical dyes, the preparation of
dyes
poses
less problems at present than m the past. Before the advent of
chemical dyes, the indigenous and natural dye-Stuffs were used.
Even
today the indigenous system of dyeing of fermentation
is
in vogue.
Loosening and Unwinding
The Yarn obtained m the form of knots i.e., (in
form
of
Bundle) requires loosening and
Unwinding of Yarn is done on reels.
by
women.
Unwinding
is
done
22
unwinding
at
the
first.
This work is usually done
mechanically
as
well.
This
increases speed and reduces cost.
Warping
After
be
yarn
warped.
the yarn is unwound from the hanks, it has
Warping is lengthwise yarn preparation.
When
is warped on the pegs, it is known as peg-warp mg
It
an old method which is laborious and takes a lot of time.
to
the
is
23
Pirn Winding ^
Pirn winding is done m case of weft yarn or
breadth
wise yarn. After the yarn is loosened and unwound, it has to be
wound again on the pirns.2^
22
23
24
NCAER - op cit., p 22.
Ibid , p 22
Ibid , p.22.
PLATE
PLATE
7 : DYEING
8 : PIRN WINDING
42
43
Sizing (z /
By
starch
this
process,
the warp is
impregnated
paste containing several other ingredients
proportions
with
in
a
various
so as to enable the Yarn mainly to protect
itself
from the rubbing and strain during weaving. The sizing is
done
by one or more persons walking the length of the warp, applying
sizing paste with brushes made of coir fibre.
25
.
.
.
Sizing is
. .
done
usually by women.
Reeding
}
At this stage, the threads of the sized warp yarn are
inserted through the dents of a reed and attached to the
cloth
beam before actual weaving can be undertaken.
Weaving :
i__J
Weavinng in the process of interlacement of the
warp
and the weft in a fabric according to a design.
Cost of production and its components :
Production
cost incurred for converting yarn
into
cloth mainly consists of following:
1) Material,
2) Labour, and
3) Overhead.
25. Report of the Textile Enquiry Committee, Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Government of India, New Delhi,
1954, p.44.
44
PLATE
9 : SIZING
PLATE 10 : REEDING
45
PLATE 11
WEAVING
46
I) Material Cost^T)
Yarn is the basic raw-material for the production
cloth.
It
product in
cost
constitutes
a
major
portion
of
total
cost. This component of cost gives ample
of
variable
scope
for
planning and cost control. Costs of silk, Art Silk, Zari,
Cotton
Yarn, are the main items of material cost. The size
total
material
cost incurred in respect of
saree
or
is
quantity
other
khan
mainly influenced
by
each
the
variety
factors
of
like,
of yarn used, type of yarn used and cost of yarn
items. If the size of silk yarn along with
of
and
cotton
yarn
goes on increasing, the material cost goes on increasing.
Silk
yarn
end-
is
product.
mainly used for multiplying the beauty
In
products.
of
the
other words, it adds to the esteem value
Thus
the total material cost incured
of
differs
the
from
variety to variety. It is at this stage that the weaver has
to
decide about the relative share of cotton yarn and silk yarn to
be
mixed in the end-product.
2)
Labour cost
This
and
includes the wages for
preliminary
processing
wages for weaving. The former category includes wages
winding,
sizing,
reeding, etc., whereas the
latter
for
category
includes the wages for weaving. Like material cost, the size of
labour
khanas.
cost also varies depending upon variety of
sarees
In case of the handloom units selected for the
workers are paid on piece-rate system.
and
study,
47
3)
Overhead cost s)
Besides
the
material
cost
and
labour
cost,
the
handloom units also incur^ overhead expenses. The main items of
overhead
costs
are:
rent,
telephone
charges,
travelling
expenses, collection charges, printing and stationary,
and
telegram,
office
staff,
water charges, electricity charges,
etc.
overheads
are
not
inherited
handlooms,
In
case
incurred
of
in
processing
independent
view
of
the
at residence,
postage
salary
of
weavers,
the
factors
like
sale
of
the
products at the local market, etc. But overhead cost in case of
master-weavers
is a function of size of the handloom unit
and
the time. The smaller the size of unit and the lesser the time,
the lesser the overhead and vice-versa.