A DOUBLE IKAT THAT’S SPECIAL TO THIS TOWN
At a recent Diwali Bazaar in Delhi, a shop selling colourful Ikat saris added variety to the usual gotapatti and sequin-embroidered dresses on sale. “It’s a Patola. Made in Patan in Gujarat. ₹15,000,” the smiling old lady at the stall told buyers who stopped by.
If Rohit Salvi, the national award winning weaver from Patan had heard her, he would have shaken his head in disagreement. “Patola is a kind of double ikat handloom fabric. A sari costs upwards of ₹ 1.5 lakh. The ones that sell for ₹12-15,000 use a single ikat pattern and they’re not traditional Patola saris,” he would have said.
If the Rani Ki Vav is the pride of Patan, the other thing that this little Gujarat town can claim to have a national monopoly over, is the double ikat silk weave.
The story goes that Kumarpal, a ruler of Patan, was so fond of the Patola weave that he brought 700 families of weavers – who all shared the community’s last name of Salvi – from Maharashtra, where this weave had originated, to Patan.
Over the years, their number has dwindled to just two or three. Now even though there is demand for the fabric, there aren’t enough weavers left, says Rohit’s nephew Rahul, a weaver and trained architect. Two of his cousins are doctors and have nothing to do with the family trade. It’s time consuming work, and it is labour intensive. Multiple rounds of tie and dye are done before the weaving begins.
A short distance from Patola House is Patolawala Farm House, where another group of Salvi weavers are engaged in their traditional art. “We have 25 looms and 150 workers,” says Mehul Salvi. But many of them are from outside the community and first generation workers.
The shrinking Salvi hold over the trade has helped others in getting a foothold. Twenty-nine-year old Shyam Soni’s father learnt the art of Patola from a friend in the Salvi community and started Madhvi Handicrafts 35 years ago. The Sonis even have a GI tag for their Patola, though, like Rohit and his family, they also weave the cheaper single ikat for the mass market. But unlike the Salvis, who still use natural dyes for their fabric , Soni uses chemical colours. Royal patronage has given way to affluent new customers, but what is worrying is the loss of the traditional workforce.
The waning interest among traditional artisans is something Patola shares with Mashru – a handloom that was once woven across India but is today believed to be made only in Patan. Even here its production is shrinking. Started for Muslims whose religion forbade them to wear pure silk, Mashru blends a silk top weave, with cotton underneath. But few want to work the looms now. One reason for this, according to some, is because earnings are little compared to the work they put in.