Aryahh Shirodkar

Sep 9, 20239 min read

Pochampally Ikat “Ikat is not a print its a heirloom” - Madeline Weinrib

Have you ever wondered what attracts you to your mother's or grandmother's saris? I have. Since childhood, I have liked wearing mom's patterned dupattas in the form of a sari, while playing teacher-teacher at home. I also enjoyed going shopping for saris with her and be curious about her taste in picking up saris. I later discovered about her liking towards temple bordered Ikat saris with bright colors like green and pink. To understand more about Ikat and why does it attract people towards itself, I thought of choosing Pochampally Ikat as my textile.

INTRODUCTION

Ikat is an art that evolved in Indonesia, Bolivia, and places around the world. Its old frescos were found in Ajanta and Ellora caves that show figures wearing Ikat patterns confirming it found in the 7th century. Ikat from out of India has a lot of flora and fauna while Ikat from India has more geometric forms. India has prominent handloom textile art in three major regions that developed their style over a period, and they are Andhra Pradesh(Telangana), Gujarat, and Odisha, out of which Pochampally is from Andhra Pradesh.

HISTORY OF TELANGANA

Telangana , is known for its ancient Ikat weaving centers of India along with Gujarat and Odisha. Pochampally Ikat is a type of silk that was found in Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana). Bhoodan, Pochampally is also known as “Silk city of India” since it plays a major role for giving the world a fabric that can rival any other Ikat production in the country. These silk saris boasts a blending comfort with grandeur and perfection.

TEXTILE

History and its Origin

Pochampally Ikat was found in the 1950s in Bhoodan, Pochampally, Telangana. This Ikat is inspired by Patola of Gujarat and Telia Rumal's of Andhra. This fabric is either made from silk /cotton/SiCo. A minimum of three colors are usually used while creating this piece and one can find two types of Ikat's in this style, one is Single Ikat and the other is Double Ikat. The Single Ikat has simple motifs and pure geometric patterns; it has bright colors and big designs that make it look attractive. For the motif, cream with maroon, red, black, and green are used as a background color. Whereas, Double Ikat has complicated and intricate patterns with the use of bright colors. Usually, Pochampally Ikat is found in Single Ikat due to its blur effect on the big, bold and bright patterns that it creates.

SYMBOLISM/SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEXTILE

One can identify Pochampally Ikat, by looking at its intricate geometric patterns, minute details giving a captivating effect and hypnotizing the person by the end of it. They are also light in weight and comfortable , such that one can wear it as a summer wear ,especially in India. The rich luster of silk on the sari makes it as one of the best options to wear it during the festive season.

NOTE ON COMMUNITY OF WEAVERS OF POCHAMPALLY IKKAT

Telangana is a home for more than 1,20,000 weavers. Apart from Pochampally Ikat it is also a hub for many traditional types of weaves like Narayanpet, Gadwal and Siddipet. Ikat has gained immense popularity over the years .Many start-up companies have used traditional Ikat fabric in contemporary silhouettes contributing to its popularity.

TOOLS

Raw Materials -

Silk - Silk is used rarely to produce silk saris.

Cotton- Many products are weaved using cotton threads

Dye colors- For cotton threads fabric colors are used and for silk chemical colors are used.

Equipment used in reeling, dyeing and weaving processes are as below:

Dyeing Machine: It is used to dye the threads in large quantity at a time.

Weaving Loom: Small loom is used for weaving sari and big looms are used to weave bedspreads and other fabrics.

Fly Shuttle: It is used to insert into fly-shuttle while weaving.

Warping wheel: Cotton threads are reeled on warping wheel.

Reed: Jointing process is done on reed.

Spinning Machine: Spinning wheels are used to prepare spools and spindles.

Reeling Machine: It is used to prepare spools.

Spools and Spindles: Spools is used while warping and spindles are used while weaving.

PROCESS /TECHNIQUE OF WEAVING

Pochampally Ikat and Patola have the same technique of doing a crossover between printing and weaving, where the yarn is dyed first instead of dyeing the face of the cloth. So, the major difference lies in its geography and design language as Patola comes from Gujarat and Pochampally from Telangana.

MOTIFS

Telia Rumal and Patola are the inspiration for the origin of motifs in Pochampally Ikkat. Telia Rumal was found in the 19th century in Andhra Pradesh and was started by the Chirala community. It is a process where the yarn is treated with oil and individual warp and weft threads are positioned. It was used as a piece of scarves by women while the men wore it in the form of lungi and turban. This textile is also known to be auspicious and is deeply linked to the culture of this place. Its motifs are usually, square-like cotton pieces with diamonds, flowers, and elephants seen within the square. But Traditionally, it has nine motifs each having a significance of its own.

1. Pachis Kana- based on a popular game played between four players, Colours like yellow, pink, and blue are used for this motif.

2. Udita Kallu- It is a motif that depicts the squirrel's eye.

3. Mungi Chakram - Mungi motif is a circle-shaped motif that represents the sun to portray, strength and light, while Chakram means wheel of a bullock cart, to portray means of agriculture in their area.

4.Mallepullu/Nakshatram - Mallepullu motif is about the jasmine that signifies purity, kindness, and marital life. Nakshatram is a star that shines at night.

5. Mudda Banthi - It is a motif about a group of marigold flowers and depicts closeness.

6. Mungi- It is a motif that has divided lines and checkered patterns, usually two colors are used to make this motif look evident.

7. Kaya- It is a diamond figured geometric shape.

8. Mungi Kaya- It is a motif with diamond and checkered patterns on it.

9. Badam- It is a heart-shaped motif that depicts love and warmth.

Telia Rumal uses 3 prominent traditional colors to depict these motifs and they are red, black, and white. The red color is usually obtained from the Indian mulberry/Aal to get that particular tone and in today's world the more the no. of motifs are used the more colors one can see in it.

Coming to Patola of Gujarat, this textile is famous for Double Ikat and minute details that develop along a single length and takes months/a year to complete a single piece. It has roughly around 40 plus motifs out of which five to six are used in Pochampally.

1. Chokdi Bhat - A design that has a double outline intersecting to form a diamond in itself and having three flowers on a stem.

2. Nari Kunjar Bhat - Nari is referred to as a dancing girl and Kunjar is an Elephant that is associated with fertility and cosmic waters.

3. Nari Kunjar Popat Ful Bhat- a motif with a dancing girl, elephant, parrot, and blossom flowers were used in the main field.

4. Popat Kunjat Bhat - a motif were a parrot and elephantine used on the main field.

5. Mor Bhat - a motif where a peacock is used on the main field.

Hence, Pochampally Ikat motifs are inspired from these above places where its traditional motifs include single dots, double dots, lines, rhombus, animals like elephant, parrot, dancing girl, traditional diamond and small butas with small flower motifs and circles in the border. The current trend of this fabric includes a combination of nature-based motifs, temple borders, bigger motifs, and symmetrical designs. The use of ‘Zari’ is also seen in this fabric, but the animal motifs have started disappearing.

Pochampally Ikat Motifs

COLOURS AND PATTERNS

The colors of Pochampally Ikat come from natural sources and their blends. The colors are usually bright with orange, yellow, dull gold and pink rolling the roost. The patterns are mostly seen in dull gold, but due to the introduction towards new motifs one will find brighter colors present in it.

VARIATION OF TEXTILES AROUND THE WORLD

Ikat is carried out of India in various places like -

1. Uzbekistan- Ikat fabrics are called as “abr” means cloud in Persian and its tie and dye process is called as “abr bandi” which means cloud like patterns. It uses a lot of flora and fauna for its motifs.

2. Saraswak - This Ikat comes from Malaysia and uses lizards as their motif to define their style of Ikat.

3. Japanese - Here, the Japanese Ikat is called as Kasvri, these Ikkat’s have blue as their main color and its motifs have alternate lines and patterns.

4. Hingii- This Ikat is also called as Sumba and it comes from Indonesia. It has a blend of male and female motifs relating to Father Sun, Mother Moon who are the creators of the weavers human life.

5. Buddhist - This Buddhist Ikat comes from Indonesia and it Narrates stories through the fabric.

So, too compare between Indian Ikat and Ikat's from out of India, Textiles from out of India have more of flora and fauna , while Indian Ikat are recognised for its intricate geometric form.

PRODUCTS IN THE MARKET

Since, this Ikat has traditional as well as innovative motifs from floral, zoomorphic too geometric patterns and abstract designs it is also known as a contemporary textile. Its textures and colors are vibrant and eye-catching, it doesn’t look too shabby and portrays a combination of elegance, beauty and tradition. It is also considered a bridge between vintage and modern styling. This contemporary textile is used on rugs, chair covers, wallpaper, tile design, bedspread, cushions, tablecloth, curtains, and other home décor items too, to represent status wealth, and prestige.

CURRENT STATUS OF TEXTILES/CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES

Initially, Pochampally Ikat started on traditional looms and on old design elements but now it has grown to ten thousand families in hundred villages. This fabric received its Geographical Indication in 2005 and has also found its place in UNESCO’s “iconic sari weaving clusters of India.

Indian designer Rahul Mishra is keen to bring this textile into limelight . Bollywood Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also wore this sari on her wedding day and Indian governments air carrier , Air India air hostesses also wear specially designed Pochampally silk saris.

INTERVENTIONS BY GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS TO PROMOTE TEXTILES.

Mr. Suresh is the owner of Roopika handlooms and also the Pochampally Ikat Tie and Dye Association’s director. He has a pretty good understanding of the current market trends and the weavers. His passion to uplift his forefathers occupation has led him to provide employment to hundred plus weavers in the Pochampally community . He designs the saris by himself based on the trends and the most popular colors in the market, the patterns and color trends change every month based on these trends . To increase his sales in the economic sector he uses the double Ikat patterns into the single Ikat ones which reduces the time taken for production . Below are some of his lines from the interview that I found catchy and intriguing -

“People like me are using modern methods of marketing and sales to keep our country’s heritage crafts intact. We are only here to make sure the weavers still have enough opportunities to earn their living.”

His idea of not losing the weavers and keeping the traditional textile alive amongst us was what made me like his work even more.

SWOT ANALYSIS

CONCLUSION-

To sum up, Ikat is a technique that has created a position for itself among the high standards by flourishing in the root system of traditional practices.

REFLECTIVE STATEMENT.

In today's world, it is also important to learn and understand the traditional practices of the textile that are being followed for decades and then add one's perspective to it to stay connected to the original roots of the system. During this pandemic, the local weavers are going through a rough time to sell their fabrics since they aren’t exposed to digital marketing as much, and many people prefer to buy the fabric after feeling it with one's hand, so I feel that there’s a huge gap between the weavers and the customers and as the whole world has shifted to an online forum it is pretty hard to concentrate in classes, not getting disturbed with notifications running through your phone. Education has started losing its importance, hence I observed that learning through games is more fun than just mugging up from the textbooks so to make the learning fun and interactive I thought of using Pochampally Ikat motifs to design fun games around it.

Coming to my designer point of view, I want to be the answer to the question;

“What other way could I incorporate fun learning (through games) in textiles?”

REFERENCES (BIBLIOGRAPHY)

1. Research links