https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

An IAS Officer Helps Revive Identity of Tamil Nadu’s Negamam Cotton Sarees

2020 batch IAS officer Saranya Ramachandran along with the Handloom team of Coimbatore, identified the value of Tamil Nadu's Negamam sarees
Indian Masterminds Stories

Negamam in Pollachi region of Tamil Nadu is famous for its pure cotton sarees but over time the art of weaving this particular handloom lost its significance thus never reaching the popularity it deserves.

Now as India shines with the new global fashion identity for a first-of-its-kind, multi-disciplinary cultural space in the sphere of arts, another IAS warrior digs her heels deep to return to the forgotten weavers of the South their lost identity as she prepared to add further value with GI tags to make them more recognizable and profitable at a mega scale.

The Negamam sarees go a long way back in time as their reference are found made by the Britisher colonisers before 1947.

An old weaver in Negamam

These cotton sarees are a popular variety from the city of Coimbatore. They are notable for their vibrant colours with traditional motifs such as peacocks, elephants, parrots, and paisleys. The narrow borders with striped or checked body add subtle elegance to the hand-woven drapes that have small smart tassels hanging around the borders.

To bring this art back to life and also uplift the lives of the weaving community of Devanga Chettiar, young IAS officer Saranya Ramachandran, when posted as Assistant Collector of Coimbatore, initiated the process of procuring its Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

LOVE FOR SAREE

Ms. Saranya while speaking to Indian Masterminds, said: “At first after talking to these people, I found that nobody knew the real value of their very own product. That’s when I started digging and getting more facts as getting a GI tag requires a historic context.”

These 100 percent pure cotton saree are known for their thickness, length, contrasting colours, and durability. The thickness of the saree ranges from 86 to 90 picks per inch (PPI) which makes it more special. 

Negamam Saree

“This is basically achieved as referred by the Britishers that this region has specifically very high relative humidity mostly in monsoon or around it,” the officer explained.

Moisture-laden wind from the Western Ghats adds up to the unique feature of the Negamam saree as the peak time for manufacturing this saree is from June to November. 

The new Negamam sarees have multicoloured threadwork of motifs, checks, and designs. The border is woven with a rich threadwork design as an extra weft.

AN EMOTIONAL BOND

Mr. Manohar, an old weaver in Pollachi region of Coimbatore, tore an old Negamam saree made him out of distress after his wife died. The saree was old but was never used. “It is for people like Manohar, who have worked throughout their lives but never recognised. The GI tag will change all that,” said the officer.

Ms. Saranya during her posting was already looking for a product from the region that could be highlighted globally. Despite her keen interest in handloom and the art form of weaving, she initially searched for some agricultural products like coconut and coir.

IAS officer Saranya Ramachandran with the handloom team

Then luckily for the weavers she somehow landed in Negamam village where she found out that most of the people there were involved in weaving sarees and have a pick loom in each of their households.

Ms. Saranya said, “After looking at the old books and gazettes, we found some interesting facts. One Nataraj district gazette written by BS Baliga in 1996 said, “There are cheap centre of producing these sarees in Negamam.”

While in the Census of India book of 1961, the district sent this hand book of Coimbatore which says, “The bulk of weavers belong to the traditional communities of Devanga.”

Painted a weaver weaving Negamam saree on the wall

Many other oral evidences were also gathered by the officer and the handloom team as they checked out old sarees which were woven 40-50 years ago.

A GLOBAL ID

The Negamam sarees have now gone through the process of documentation which required details from history, and have applied for the GI registry. After a lot of scrutiny and clarifications, the team has undergone the final  presentation and interview with an expert panel. 

With cooperatives also vouching for the history of the product and no objection raised by March 31, 2023, the Negamam cotton saree is all set to get the GI tag soon. 

Ms. Saranya said, “This will not only help the weavers economically but also in increasing the credibility and sustaining the art. After getting documented it can never be destroyed and such recognition was never made so extensively by anyone.”


Indian Masterminds Stories
Related Stories
NEWS
IAS-Officer-Logo
IAS Siddharth Mahajan’s Tenure as Joint Secretary Extended in Department of Commerce
IRS Officers ndian revenue Services
IRS Vikas Singh Appointed Director in Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Inter cadre Transfer
Two IPS Officer Given Inter-cadre Transfer on the Grounds of Marriage; Check Names Here
Alka Tiwari IAS
Jharkhand: IAS Alka Tiwari Appointed New Chief Secretary Ahead of Elections
Bibek Debroy
Remembering Bibek Debroy: The Economist Who Bridged Ancient Wisdom and Modern Policy
Ministry_of_CorporateAffairs(Corporate)MCA
IRS Kiran Reddy T Appointed Director, Ministry of Corporate Affairs
bribery
Two IRS & Three CGST SIs Arrested By CBI In "Rs. 50 Lakh" Bribery Case
West bengal Government WB
West Bengal: IAS Ravi Kumar Meena Made SDO, Arambagh-Hooghly
Videos
Prakash Singn IPS
Mulayam Singh Introduced Casteism in Police Force
WhatsApp Image 2024-10-25 at 21.23
Why Only Soldiers? Can’t Politicians or Civilians Sacrifice Too?
IMG-20241022-WA0016
IAS Officer’s Mission to Combat Breast Cancer in Rural India | Video Interview
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Tejas Krishna Prasad
How COVID-19 Led an Olympic Marksman to Crack UPSC
IAS-Officer-Logo
IAS Siddharth Mahajan’s Tenure as Joint Secretary Extended in Department of Commerce
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Prakash Singn IPS
WhatsApp Image 2024-10-25 at 21.23
IMG-20241022-WA0016
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT