Andhra Pradesh: Youth abandon gainless handloom work for jobs in cities

Youth of weaver families in Pedana are reluctant to take the baton due to meagre income prospects; many are forced to go in search of greener pastures in cities, say the handloom weavers of Pedana

With her back bent, eyes fixed on the shafts, hands rhythmically changing the heddles and her feet firmly pressing on the pedals of a pit loom, Rajeswaramma (59) spent most of over 30 years of her life weaving cloth in a dim-lit handloom maker’s hut in Pedana. 

But now, with age catching up with her and persistent knee pain, she cannot sit for as long as she used to. This has got her worried.  With her children all married, leaving for Vijayawada in search of better opportunities and her husband an invalid, she has no one who can continue weaving at her 30-year-old pit loom after she retires.  So, she has decided to sell the loom in two years.   

Almost all the houses have a pit loom in her colony at Pedana, a small weavers’ town near Machilipatnam in the Krishna district.  

“There are approximately 4,000 families engaged in weaving using pit looms in Pedana. In most families, youngsters have left for greener pastures leaving behind their ageing parents,” says S. Raghunandan, Assistant Director of Krishna district, Department of Handlooms and Textiles.  

“Sadly, there will not be anyone after me to take up weaving after I retire,” says Ms. Rajeswaramma. 

The skill of weaving was taught to her by her husband, who learnt it from his father. But they must still pass on their skill set to their four children. “They were never interested in weaving,” says Rajeswaramma, who depends on the income earned to run her house of two. 

“I sit eight hours a day these days to reach the target of at least 12 sarees a month,” she says. She is paid ₹250 to ₹300 by the master weaver for weaving a saree, which she takes two days to complete.