Knotting up the splendour of tie-dye

The patterned knots in Madurai’s famous Sungudi sarees are another way to celebrate the temple town’s rich culture and history.

The soft cotton Sungudi sarees are a part of Madurai’s identity just like its presiding Goddess Meenakshi or its aromatic jasmine. The handloom Sungudi saree’s best feature is its stamp of identity as well — its characteristic tie-dye method of patterned knots.

“To get the region identified with something as special as our saree knots, and to present something extraordinary to the kings as a mark of their gratitude, the weavers came up with the idea of the ‘Sungudi’ pattern,” says sixth-generation Sungudi artisan A K Ramesh, secretary of both the Federation of Tie and Dye Associations, and Madurai Sungudi Manufacturers and Sellers’ Associations.

Rounds and dots

What does Sungudi mean? Although it takes its root in the Sanskrit word ‘Shunya’ which means zero, or ‘Sunnam’ to mean round, the art of making Sungudi is one of circular dots brought out in a riot of thematic patterns that are handcrafted as ‘Sungadi prototypes’ on the sarees. It is the imaginative ways of placing the rounds or dots (in knots) that have them all emerging in patterns. The weavers had derived inspiration for the dotted patterns from the constellations in the sky and from the rangoli patterns that women were familiar with in the olden days.

Madurai Sungudi, produced in the vibrant town of Madurai, gradually grew to great heights, and the art received an official stamp of recognition with the GI Tag in 1999.

Ramesh, who has a BA in Sociology, practices the traditional method of Sungudi saree-making because he grew up observing his parents and grandparents in the family business.

“My father Aiyyalu B Kuppuswamy was a master-craftsman in Sungudi. After my graduation he had once told me ‘your studies will easily help you earn, but if you carry forward our family’s inheritance, you will help a handicraft survive.’ These words have stood by me until this day. My wife Vasumathi, a science graduate, also carries on the family’s Sungudi knotting profession and both of us now create awareness and training programmes through Sagaambari Crafts,” says Ramesh. The artisan rues that only around 100 weavers remain involved in the art today.

Then and now

Ramesh explains how his grandmother Nagalammal could do 10,000 to 15,000 knots a day! Each saree can take three to four thousand knots depending on the design.

In the olden days, a saree would get ready in 10 days’ time, which included weaving, knotting, dyeing and drying! Today it takes one month for a saree to get ready in the handloom,” says Ramesh talking of other challenges such as the power looms that bring down the cost significantly.

“My grandma talked of a saree with 10,000 knots that earned three annas for an artisan, today it fetches a measly Rs 2,000 despite the cumbersome work! A handloom saree that cost Rs 2,000 five decades ago, is priced at Rs 12,000 today! And the Sungudi done on a power loom can be bought for Rs 3,000! So, where is the support for handloom Sungudi?” asks Ramesh. “But the irony is that customers are more informed now, and the demand is increasing.”

Newer aesthetics

Crafts revivalists like Bharathy Harish of Madhurya Creations, Jaya Jaitly of Dastkari Haat Samiti, Usha Krishna of World Crafts Council and Sumita Pai of the online handloom platform, Kai Thari believe that defining new aesthetics is imperative to help craftspersons access the global market. What is the Sungudi Association doing to diversify and create more visibility for the craft? “Apart from encouraging the youth to pursue Sungudi as a hobby, our product diversification is seen in our paraffin-wax block print sarees, cellphone pouches, office files, bags and coasters done with Sungudi fabrics and of course newer colour tints to suit yardages for dress materials,” says Ramesh.

Loom Chronicles is an occasional column on India’s diverse handlooms and their signature elements.