Much of the sheen of the muga, the golden silk from Assam, has been lost. This has been for a variety of reasons from government apathy and lack of marketing knowhow among weavers and manufacturers to climate change and devastating floods. Hope, however, still remains, especially in the initiatives of people like Dulal Chowdhury, who developed the technology for a mechanised process of making muga fabric right from reeling to weaving. Rubaiyat-ul Ali reports.
For muga, the ride is not as smooth as silk
Muga, the fabric with the golden hue, has not been able to acquire its rightful place in the Indian or world market. From its heydays during the Ahom reign in Assam, there has been a gradual decline of the muga, interspersed by the occasional glimmers of hope brought about by the initiatives of people like Dulal Chowdhury, a lone ranger. In recent times, there has been more bad news. The conversion of Somanis or som tree plantations to tea gardens, the adverse effects of pollution, global warming, use of fertilisers, regular floods, and the lack of government initiatives have all had their toll. Unofficial figures put the overall loss to the muga industry between 2008 and 2014 at 50 per cent. Among those trying to arrest the decline of a glorious past is Chowdhury, a mechanical engineer from Guwahati. Chowdhury developed the technology for a mechanised process of making muga fabric right from reeling to weaving. He was awarded a patent for this in January 2000. Chowdhury manufactures plain muga fabric of a much better quality than the fabric produced on handlooms. Yet, Chowdhury's muga has been certified to be 100 per cent silk by a Mumbai-based testing laboratory. The invention made it possible for muga to be produced on a mass industrial scale that could meet large orders. Chowdhury concentrates on production of the plain fabric because it is not necessarily limited to use for making traditional garments only, but can also be used for making a wide variety of products as per the requirement of buyers not only from all over the country but also from different parts of the world. He was also awarded a patent for the process for preparation of soft muga silk in March 2002. All for good reason. That's because, there is an inherent hardness in muga fabric due to its 10-12 per cent serecin content which tends to make it difficult to use for various purposes. Chowdhury's softening measure aims at reducing the serecin content through a process of heating. Softened muga is more malleable and applicable to a wide range of uses...
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