Mrs Laxmi Mallesham is perhaps the happiest mother in the small village of handloom weavers,Sharjipet. She has got freedom from the hours of physical pain and stress. Now she has all the time for herself and her family, thanks to her 36 years old son, Chintakindi Mallesham.
Life without weaving on looms is difficult in his community, so his parents taught him to work on looms from his tenth year. He
studied in the night,worked on looms in the day, and managed to pass tenth class in the third attempt. Considering the financial condition of the family, he finally gave up his studies in 1986.
Pochampalli silk sari is an exquisite tradition of double ikat style of weaving with combination of variety of colours and intricate designs of geometrical patterns. It is distinguished because it has similar appearance of design on the front as well as the back side of sari. Pochampalli sari tradition got geographical indications certification (GI) four years ago making its copying outside its region illegal. Before weaving these patterns on loom, hand winding process of yarn has to be pursued, called Asu. Mallesham’s family has been into this tradition of weaving saris involving the process of Asu for several generations. Entire design on the saris is totally dependent on Asu process. Traditionally, ladies of the family performed this activity as it was done sitting under the shade or at home. But it involved long hours and lot of physical effort.
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