Yarn skeins Different coloured bobbins hanging
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An elderly weaver fills bobbins, while seated in the samiti workshop
A geometric design being woven
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India is known for its rich tradition and culture, which is reflected in the different works of art and craft. These handicrafts portray the painstaking craftsmanship and hereditary skills of the craftspeople involved. The handloom industry in India is the 2nd biggest employment generator in the country, after agriculture, and has exquisite artistic value and skill attached to it, developed over several centuries. Of the 13 handloom clusters in the state of Madhya Pradesh, in central India, Khilchipura, in the district of Mandsaur, is associated with weaving colloquially called Chaddar Bunai or bedsheet weaving, practiced for several decades by the women of the native Muslim Ansari community. Here, we delve deeper into the history of the craft and into the weavers’ lives as we understand the current status of the craft and its potential for continued sustainability.
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Mandsaur is located in the Malwa region and Madhya Pradesh state of Central India. Mandsaur is rich in archaeological and historical heritage and is famous for the temple of Lord Pashupatinath as well as for the large production of opium. The town is situated on the banks of the Sivina River and derives its name from an interesting tale it is situated on the Tropic of Cancer, and on Makar Sankranti, a major harvest festival dedicated to the deity Surya, the sun rays are less powerful. The town was therefore named ‘Mand Surya’, which was later converted to Mandsaur. It was the capital of many kings during the Gupta period; Mandsaur was then called Dashpur as it was a group of ten villages. (Collectorate, 2016) Mandsaur's handloom industry has a rich historical background. During the 1960s, Khadi garments
lattha
was the prime product of this area, not only famous in Mandsaur but in the nearby regions too. Raw materials for the handloom industry like ribbons, threads, colours, looms etc were directly available in the local markets and readymade lattha garments were directly sold in these markets to the traders. In the year 1977-1978, the Government of India included the handloom industry into the list of 20 point programs. For the development of handloom industry the first handloom secretariat was established and the Government's textile department was then involved in the development goals of the state and the government. A textile department in Mandsaur was also set up and from this branch, the weavers were facilitated with raw threads while a mechanism to receive the processed garments/handlooms from them was also created. During the time of the Emergency (1975-77), with the start of the Janta Vastra Yojana, this industry bloomed again and for 20 years the weavers were benefitted from this business. (MPHSVN,2016)
There live about 350-450 women weavers who work on handlooms. These weavers make varied products in the home furnishing range such as cotton bed sheets, bedcovers, table cloth, towels and pillow covers mainly for commercial use. One of the biggest USPs of this craft is the fact that all the weavers involved are women, with the men choosing to take up other professions like tailoring or working in the construction industry,
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Mandsaur is situated on the Ajmer-Lebad (Indore) NH-79 as well as the MhowNeemuch SH-31 4 Lane road. The railway station is situated on the Ajmer-Ratlam track of Indian Railways and is under the Ratlam rail division which connects it to the whole of the country.
The nearest airports to Mandsaur are the Dabok Airport, Udaipur, Rajasthan, 145 km away and the Indore Airport, 167 kms away. The climate of this district is generally hot and dry. The cold season is from December to February; January is the coldest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at 35 ℃ and mean daily minimum at 9.3℃. March to mid-June is the summer season. May is generally the hottest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at 39.8 ℃ and the mean daily minimum at 25.4℃. It is blazing hot in these months, and temperatures may go up to 45℃. Thereafter, the south-west monsoon season starts and continues up to about the middle of September. (Collectorate, 2016)
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The entrance to the samiti
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Mandsaur district lies between the parallels of latitude 230 45' 50" North and 250 2' 55" North, and between the meridians of longitude 740 42' 30" East and 750 50' 20" East. Neemuch district borders it on the north-west and Ratlam district borders it in the south. It is also surrounded by Pratapgarh, Chittorgarh, Kota, Jhalawar districts of Rajasthan.
It occupies a total area of 9791 km² with Mandsaur city occupying 1274.88 km² and a population of 1,339,832 of which 681,439 were male and 658,393 were female as of the 2011 census. The District is divided into four sub divisions (Mandsaur, Malhargarh, Sitamau and Garoth) and eight Tehsils (Mandsaur, Malhargah, Garoth, Shamgarh, Dalauda, Bhanpura, Suwasra and Sitamau). (Collectorate, 2016) The Gram Panchayat of the Mandsaur Development block is in Khilchipura, situated 7 Kms from Mandsaur city. In this area, there reside approximately 450 families of weavers with a population of 1500.
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Mandsaur has been associated with the handicrafts and handloom industry for a very long period of time. In the 1960s when khadi clothes were the main products of the weavers, Mandsaur was one of the places that produced them. In 1977-78 when the Indian government decided to include 20 more handicrafts-related places under its various handloom-related schemes, Mandsaur was included in the list; a committee was then established for the weavers by the name of Momin Bunkar Sahkari Samiti (weaver’s government committee). (MPHSVN, 2016)
Weavers gathered inside
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A weaver using a larger multana
The multana being run 11
A weaver tying the warp threads on the loom
There are about 120 fly shuttle frame looms in the workshop provided by the Madhya Pradesh Handicraft and Handloom Association and the weavers own some of them themselves, with the looms set up in their own houses. One master person named Mr. Ikwal Hussain Ansari manages and sets the loom for everyone and explains the design to the women weavers. Grey yarns are sourced by the samiti from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Barda in Maharashtra. These pure processed cotton yarns are later dyed in various colors at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh A standard checking is done after yarns are dyed. Different combinations of colors are then used to weave the bed sheets, pillow covers and towels.
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A weaver working on the loom
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Warps on the loom 15
Bobbins and shuttles are sourced from Ahmedabad and Ujjain. The weavers purchase these tools for themselves. Yarns are spun on the spinning wheel/warping machine (multana) that are then filled in the bobbins with the help of a warper. There are precisely 3 multanas in the samiti. Some women use smaller spinning wheels to fill the bobbins themselves. 200-250 bobbins are required for one bed sheet and it takes around 2-3 days to fill the same. There are three types of looms in the samiti, all of which are frame looms. They are categorized based on their sizes being 60 inches, 72 inches and 110 inches respectively. After a design is finalized, it is drawn on a graph paper and the warp and weft are set on the loom accordingly.
A weaver winds the bobbins
Women weavers of Khilchipura
The traditional phool design
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Multi-coloured checked bedsheets
A checked pattern being woven
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In Mandsaur handloom weaving is the livelihood for many directly or indirectly. The weavers belong to the Muslim Ansari community, and all of their income levels fall Below the Poverty Line (BPL). The majority of them are wage earners who earn minimal wages in spite of working for more than 7 Hours a day. For every single bedsheet woven, they earn Rs. 70 and for every double bedsheet woven, they earn Rs.150. There is a vast difference between what the wages earned per product woven and the selling price of the product indicating that the weavers are not appropriately compensated for the efforts put in. The weavers only work for five months in a year, due to no steady flow of orders, further adding to their economic instability; many of them depend on their sons who work in the Middle-East to send money. Most of the weavers are illiterate or can only sign their names. The village is in a remote area with no concrete tar roads, no proper transportation to and from the main city and no hospitals, grocery stores or other basic amenities in the vicinity. Other problems faced by the weavers are the climatic conditions. The climate of Khilchipura is generally dry. Days are intensely hot in summer and hot dust-laden winds add to the discomfort of the weavers. The day temperatures often go up above 45°C. Lack of fresh drinking water in Khilchipura also adds to the woes of the weavers.
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Women weavers of Khilchipura
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Checked bedsheets
Women of Khilchipura
While the craft continues to survive in the 21st century, it is clear that the future remains precarious and uncertain. Illiteracy is a major obstacle in the paths of the weavers as this prevents them from getting actively involved in the working of the samiti, understanding the plan laid out for them, raising important questions and getting their voices heard by the authorities.
A large chunk of the weavers are at any given point of time, unemployed, as orders for new products have been steadily declining over the years. With continuous work not being provided to them, they do not have a permanent, steady flow of income on which they can depend on, and thus their quality of life automatically falls which consequentially has repercussions for the entire family, including their children’s education and health. The craft and its processes are not intrinsically unique; there is no defining factor that would help distinguish it from the other crafts and make it impossible to replicate elsewhere. This could be due to the fact that the materials used (cotton threads) and the actual process (simple weave) is as such basic at its core and has not changed or upgraded itself as the years have passed.
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The most important issue to be addressed is the creation of a brand identity and marketing strategy that would ensure that the craft is well-known both nationally and internationally as at present it remains largely anonymous. In this competitive industry the importance of an excellent, efficient marketing strategy that ensures an unbroken link between product and customer can not be understated or underestimated. Mandsaur’s characteristic stripes are its USP and have a classic timeless look and appeal, which can be successfully marketed to the international market. With a smart marketing strategy and by introducing newer materials such as linen, hemp, or raw silk and innovative colour combinations and techniques using the same basic principles to provide interesting variations, this can be achieved along with providing basic education to the weavers, and a considerable upliftment and expansion of the cluster in terms of employment and remuneration in the future.
Tied warps in red, yellow and white
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Glossary Ansari
Momin Bunkar Sahkari Samiti
A Muslim community, found mainly in West and North India, and the province of Sindh in Pakistan.
An association established to look after the needs of Momin Ansari weavers of Khilchipura, Mandsaur
Chaddar Bunai
Multana
Bedsheet weaving
Spinning/ Warping Wheel
Lattha
Samiti
Khadi (handspun, handwoven garments)
Committee, society or association
Makkar Sankranti
Phool Patti
A Hindu festival in reference to the Sun deity
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Flower and leaf design
Bibliography Collectorate, Mandsaur (Madhya Pradesh) (2016). Home: Mandsaur A District of Madhya Pradesh. Retrieved from http://www.mandsaur.nic.in/ Madhya Pradesh Hast Shilp Vikas Nigam (MPHSVN), 2016
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