Stories from the loom - Chanderi Diary

Nestled in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, is the town of Pranpur. Together with it’s better-known neighbour, the town of Chanderi,  it resounds with the strangely musical clackety—clak of looms that weave gorgeous Chanderi sarees. A region that peaked in influence between  the 12^th-16^th centuries as a strategic trade and military outpost, as well as an important center for Jainism, today Chanderi has been bypassed by other tourist destinations in Madhya Pradesh. 

However those curious about the indigenous weaves and craft forms of this region do make the arduous journey over terrible roads, as my entire team from work did last week. We picked up the so-called superfast Jabalpur express from New Delhi in the afternoon and had a lovely few hours playing games, giggling and generally making a nuisance of ourselves in the compartment. I haven’t had so much fun on a train journey since I left college! Almost 6 hours later, we reached a tiny station called Lalitpur in Uttar Pradesh. From Lalitpur, we jolted along over horrible roads in pitch-darkness for 15 km, until we crossed the border into Madhya Pradesh where the roads were well-paved and smooth! 20 more km later during which I dozed off, we reached our destination, a quaint retreat in Pranpur. We could do nothing more than fall exhausted into our beds that night.

We were up at 7 the next day (my roommate later confessed she could not sleep during the night because it was so quiet!) and began exploring our home for the next couple of days. The rooms were pretty basic but clean. Mine had pretty latticed windows and Chanderi curtains. There was a small reception area, a restaurant, a 'conference room' and lots and lots of mango trees! We started work at 10 am since we had a full agenda – budgets, dashboards, goals, targets had all to be discussed threadbare and argued over! Lunch-time introduced me to some simple and tasty Bundelkhandi food.

The guest house

Bundellkhandi platter

After lunch, we toodled off to our first stop of the pm. The Bunkar Samiti or Weaver’s Cooperative at Pranpur saw 8 females walking in, cameras and notepads at the ready. What a visual feast it was! Imagine 8 women let loose in a roomful of exquisite sarees and you can imagine the pandemonium :) Sarees were touched, oohed and aahed over, draped and bought. We heard from the weavers about the hard times they had been through, why the cooperative was formed and what benefits it had for the weavers and how Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor had visited them a few years ago. The latter was a recurring theme in all our conversations in Pranpur and Chanderi.  The Kareena Palla was a much cherished design and source of pride for the locals and left us wondering at the power of celebrity endorsements! Maybe more Bollywood stars should promote craft in India!

We then visited another cooperative nestled inside a heritage building near the Chanderi Fort, where we got to learn some technicalities of the loom and spoke to more weavers. Visiting the weaver’s homes in Chanderi was a wonderful experience. We had a guide who led us in pitch darkness through narrow alleys to the homes of potters and weavers. We sidestepped cow and goat dung, and stumbled over uneven dirt tracks to reach our destination. Every home has atleast one loom of not two, purchased or rented at usurious rates. Very few homes were pucca. Most were just one room shacks with a coal or wood chulha and a thatched roof. Electricity is intermittent and night-time weaving is done without the aid of cooling and with kerosene lanterns. Most kids go to school but are at work on the looms during their free time. Yet we were always invited inside for a meal or hot tea. People invited us home unreservedly to look at their work, take photos and chat. They shared their stories with no reserve and no bitterness.

Chanderi - the street lined with wevare's homes on both sides

A weaver's home - one of the few prosperous-looking ones

 

At the loom

The spunkiest person we met was this 90 year old woman whose husband and son were both State-level master weavers and awardees. Her husband was a few years older and hard of hearing. She dragged us inside her house, made us all sit down. When we asked her whether she could also weave as well as her husband, she scornfully said “Haan main bhi bunti hoon. Sara kaam to maine hi kiya hai!” She was confident and secure, making me wonder about my preconceived notions of empowerment. If this old poor woman sitting in a dark hut in interior MP was not empowered, who was??

The other interesting observation was that absolutely not one of these women weavers wore a Chanderi saree, instead opting for synthetic sarees. When we asked why, they shrugged. The sarees are too expensive, we can’t afford them. Isn’t that the ultimate irony, that the artisan who produces something so exquisite does not get to experience it for himself? They had a dispassionate approach to their work typified by their response to what I now feel were our typically urban, upper-middle class questions. Do you like what you do, we asked? Again, that shrug. It’s a job. It’s what we do. They feel pride in their craft, but ultimately it’s a question of economics and feeding your family.

Our spunky friend had a telling response when we asked her why she did not have any of the sarees she had woven. Can I take anything with me when I pass away, she retorted with a toothy smile. I think all of us can do with a dose of that pragmatism! This is what my husband calls the Zooming Out approach to life!

We met many more weavers over the next day and a half and had many more conversations. As we headed back to Jhansi to catch our train to Delhi, all of us were silent reflecting on the eventful days gone by. Until we were literally jolted back to reality by one of the Boleros breaking down and all 9 of us with our luggage having to squeeze into the other one!! By the time we reached Jhansi, we were hot, thirsty and I had painful knees from having had a colleague perched on me during the ride. It was good to get back to some creature comforts! So much for living the simple rustic life :)