‘World can learn from Telangana govt’s initiatives to help weavers’

When Kyra Zapf, a handloom connoisseur from the United States, visited Sircilla, the textile town of Telangana, she was left impressed with the colourful weaves and textiles that were created by the skilled weavers waving their magic wand over them.

Hyderabad: When Kyra Zapf, a handloom connoisseur from the United States, visited Sircilla, the textile town of Telangana, she was left impressed with the colourful weaves and textiles that were created by the skilled weavers waving their magic wand over them.

Kyra is studying the handloom sector and the skills of weavers in different Asian countries under an American government research grant. As part of her study tour, she visited Sircilla and Pochampally after interacting with sericulture farmers in Siddipet.

Having studied in the US, where most people, she believes, possess very little idea where their clothing comes from, Kyra eventually started out researching the history of fabrics especially medieval designs.

Kyra who has a strong stance on moving towards sustainable weaving and away from plastics and polyesters, said, “I love the handloom industry because it promotes natural fibers that do not harm the environment.”

The costume seamstress and the designer, who was in the city spoke to ‘Telangana Today’ and she says that in addition to weavers’ unmatchable talent, she was awed by the State government’s initiatives to give a fillip to the development of the textile town of Sircilla, home to more than 30,000 power looms, and provide sustainable income to the weavers.

“The government initiatives to help the weavers are brilliant and something I believe the rest of the world can learn from. I would love to see these schemes in other places,” she remarked.

“The fact that Telangana has elected ministers who really care about sustainability and their communities of weavers is a huge step in the right direction. People here should be very proud,” Kyra added.

During her visit to Sircilla, she also enquired about the shifting of weavers from handlooms to power looms and the modernisation amazed her.

“Weavers here are amazingly talented. I met a weaver named Veldi Hariprasad and I was very impressed with his initiative. He is creating art, not just weaving cloth. His color theory for the creation of his 10,000-color Indian flag was particularly interesting,” Kyra said. Hariprasad gained popularity with his Sircilla Siri Pattu saris and other innovative handloom products, especially a sari that can be folded and kept in a matchbox.

During her tour of India, Kyra is also scheduled to visit other States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.