Sarees of Andhra Pradesh

Pochampalli: Pochampalli, located near the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, is probably one of the most flourishing center of modern handloom industry and producing ikkat Sarees on a large scale. The weavers in Pochampalli are basically Hindus of the Padmasali or Devang communities who have been residents for long and have thus adopted the local dialect and social norms. These weavers produce ikkat textiles with geometrical designs, and have also recently started experimenting with all-Indian styles. It is believed that ikkat technique was brought to Pochampalli from Chirala, another town in Andhra Pradesh, a couple of generations ago, perhaps as early as 1915 when the workshops in Chirala are said to have been weaving ikkat Sarees, turbans etc. One of the reasons why Pochampalli Sarees find a better market in India and abroad is, the weavers use modern synthetic colors instead of the expensive vegetable dyes for dying, thereby not only bringing down the cost of production, but also getting a chance to be more creative by trying out complex designs.

Since the 1960's Pochampalli ikkat-weavers were influenced by the paolu designs of Gujarat. The reasons for this influence could be many. Migration of the weavers could be one of them. However, there are some experts who feel that more than migration it could be influence of the print media which could be one of the major reasons. "Weavers have probably seen the Gujarati designs either in a magazine or might have actually seen one of the patola fabrics. It is also possible that weavers came across the designs at a handloom exhibition and copied the design, says some experts.