Banarasi weavers

Photography by Abdul kalam

Ethnography

Internship project

About the project

This design project was an internship project in collaboration with Dharma life an social enterprise for DLE (Dharmalife Enterpenure) program.

The research goal was to investigate the problems of the weavers and built interaction to reduce opportunity gap by targeting underpriviliged weavers and bringing then in the stream of economic growth The project brief was to research the region, craft and economic status of the weavers of Banarasi Brocade

Duration 11 June 2017 to 24 June 2017 on feild rresearch was done.

Place Pili kothi, Reori talab, Ramnagar, Bajaddiyan, Padao, Badi bazaar, Kachachrhri, Varunda eclave, Mau, Mubarakpur (Azamgarh)

Assi Ghat, Banaras Golgadda, Padao Chandauli Mau junction

Metho ology

Visiting various villages to understand the scope of studies and mapping the communities of the region and their cultural practices.

Observation research, participatory and non participatory observations, short and long interviews and informal communication and focused group discussions, supported with audio recording were main tools used during the study.

Background research about the weavers and brocade

Documentation of insights of the research int a story.

Interview, photography, and video recording of the feild settings .

Planning of the feild research

experience and learning of the project.

formulating questionnaire and informal interaction.

About the Weavers

Abdul Samad Ansari, Badi Bazar

Varanasi, one of the oldest cities of India, is the fifth biggest city, in terms of population in Uttar Pradesh. The city houses over 100,000 weavers, considering the fact that weaving is what Varanasi is known for, apart from the rich culture, the city embodies. The city is iconic and stands tall when we talk of crafts. The traditional ‘benarasi’ weave has occupied a pride of place in weaving traditions of India and is uniquely known for its additional embellishment (called the supplementary weft) upon the regular weave. It is also an art form representing a syncretic and composite Hindu-Muslim culture.

Muriurrehman

Muriurrehman ,from Padao Chandauli district 49 years old with 12 family members, six his own children works 10 hours a day for their survival with three looms which he owns.

Muriurrehman got this skill as a parten parcel, he is third generation who is still practicing art of weaving .

He specialize in kaduan technique and takes minimum 1 month to complete a saree, his per day wages is Rs 300 when helped by all ladies in family.

Waliurrehman

Khurshid Ali

Waliurrehman working as a weaver since last 60 years, he strongly opsose idea of modern schooling as he himself studied in a Madarsa for primary education.

His family comprises of 7 members ,he has 4 sons 1 daughters all are associated with weaving directly or indirectly. he have Bunkar card since 2004, unfortunately he have yet not availed anykind of benifitswith it.

Khurshid Ali, daily wage worker works on Sher Ali’s loom who owns five looms. He is one of the best and fastest Phikuan worker.

Learnings

Total 60 artisans were interacted,80 per cent of the weavers are muslim, and belongs to Ansari community with less engagement of other communities in this profession, the Ansari community has become isolated or ghettoized and hence socially excluded.

Weaving is mail dominant activity women and children are involved in preloom and post loom activitiesin Banaras, unlike in Mubarakpur where females too operate loom and handle all major operations of this delicated art of weaving.