Metro people: Revivalist of vintage sari designs

Smitha Srinath, a curator of saris and owner of the Kanjeevaram sari boutique, ‘Maya’, has been involved in the revival of handloom saris with vintage designs from the ‘60s and ’70s for a long time now.

She visits towns in Tamil Nadu such as Kanchipuram, Arni and Rasipuram and contacts weavers to bring her designs to life.

“No weaver will trust others initially. Without this trust, they wouldn’t weave the saris with
my designs. It took time and now, we work together very well,” she shares.

It has been difficult for Smitha to find weavers who are ready to weave classic vintage designs, but that’s not the same for her buyers. Many go back to old designs with a combination of blue, mustards, bottle greens and maroons.

So what is the difference between a handloom sari and a power loom sari? Smitha likens this to a home-cooked chapati and a chapati made from a machine in a canteen. While the former may have mistakes sometimes, people nevertheless prefer it.

“About 100-200m of sarees are made in a day with machines. The design is uniform without flaws. With handloom, there might be variations in the dyes used, knots all over and other errors. But a weaver has a lot of respect for his profession and this human touch makes the saris special,” she elaborates.

There are hardly any weavers left these days, she laments. She adds, “Weaving is not considered to be a lucrative profession. Most of the weavers want their children and grandchildren to go out and study engineering and get into a software job.”

Therefore, it is a time-consuming process for Smitha to coax the weavers, receive the product on time and follow-up repeatedly.

“Despite all this, it has been an enjoyable journey,” she says.

She adds, “People should promote handloom and our weavers as it is a part of our culture and art.”