India has a rich legacy in terms of fabrics. Moreover, in this legacy, the handloom sector is one of the prime and constant names. While the initiation, evolution and the procedural part of handloom was by the Romans and was introduced to places like England some 2000 years ago, India went through the process of having handloom as a source of economy as well as a pertinent method to make fabrics during the Indus Valley Civilization.

Since artisans from all over the country can display their works in the Handloom House of Delhi, the heterogeneity of the system makes it all the more accessible. Delhi has a perennial source of guests visiting from far and wide. The All India Handloom Fabrics Marketing Cooperative Society Pvt. Ltd has been sponsored since the year 1955 by the Government of India under the National Apex Organization genre to promote handloom products nationwide and beyond the boundaries of the country.

Since the Handloom House is the glaring example of the cultural ethos of the nation, thus, it is of prime significance because no matter how much does technology make things easy, tradition is something that should be kept as alive as possible. Moreover, it is impossible to avoid the fact that there are hundreds and thousands of weavers who belong to the handloom sector essentially, and they neither have the base nor the superstructure to shift to the other genre, namely, the powerloom sector. However, does being traditional mean succumbing to monotony? No. The Handloom House is the home of various types of designs and cuts, designs that are well researched and made up by the craftsmen. Sarees of various kinds are designed on theme-based notes too, that depict various themes from mythology to literature to what not!

History

While, as mentioned earlier in one of the predecessor paragraphs, handloom came into being in India during the Indus Valley civilization, the evidences like dyed fabrics of cotton that were finely woven had been found during the archeological excavation works in Mohenjo-Daro. Since handloom is one of the traditional forms, the mention of it can be found in the literatures from the Vedic Age as well. Later, as the ages passed by, Mahatma Gandhi also advocated and practiced handloom. The sheer essence of wearing handmade clothes made by the compatriots with the raw materials from the motherland to boycott any foreign fabric as a protest of curbing a nation’s independence has made handloom an intrinsic part of the history of India and its struggle for independence. Since 1976, there have been several measures from the ends of the State and the Central Governments to provide necessary upliftment in this sector and to promote the Handloom Houses.

With each phase of evolution in the handloom sector, the All India Society of the handloom sector, today, has 1,00,000 weavers and craftsmen registered under its wings. These artisans produce products made up of silk, cotton, wool, cane etc.

Objectives

• To provide a set up to generate economy for both the weavers and the country.
• Bare minimum dependence on foreign resources, thus, the entire set up has an affirmative impact on the GDP.
• To have a strong export- import market.
• To provide a direct source of employment not only to the artisans, but also to the suppliers of raw materials and distributors. Moreover, since the entire set up is a chained one, from supplier to marketing, every individual involved gets the benefit of a direct employment.
• To protect an age-old system from getting obsolete.
• To secure a market for the handloom weavers in respect to the powerloom weavers.
• To keep the spirit of ‘Indianness’ intact.
• To provide a scope of employment to the women too.
• Employment generation among the youth.
• Keeping the legacy intact only by providing the necessary support of technology, keeping the structure unharmed.
• Composite packages that are growth oriented.

Location

Most of the Handloom Houses are located in Delhi, since the Centre for Cottage Industries and the Ministry of Textiles have their roots in the capital of the nation. The Handloom House is located in Connaught Place in Delhi. The store has a huge stock of cotton sarees, curtains and other draperies to suit with the tropical climatic condition of the country. Along with these products, it has cotton and silk churidar pieces and dupattas, sarees and suit pieces made up of mulberry silk tussar, carpets made up of wool and a number of  other products as mentioned in the successor paragraph. Since Connaught Place is the heart of Delhi, thus, this place has a perennial flow of customers from the nation and abroad.

Inside the Premises

The Handloom House is usually divided into two parts- the first being the storehouse where all the finished products are received, and the second part is the marketing part or the shop outlet that is used for both display and sales purposes.

The marketing division in the Handloom House exhibit finished products as well as fabric yarns. The most displayed products are silk sarees and uncut materials of silk fabric, cotton sarees, kurti for men and women, shirts, waist coats as well as uncut yarns, ties, stoles, shawls, bed sheets, and apparels for kids. Other than these products that are fabric based, Handloom Houses also sell honey, soaps, scented sticks, handicraft items, furnitures of bamboo and cane, handmade jewelleries and so on and so forth. Since the Handloom House exhibits products that are weaved, printed and embroidered, thus, the variety is umpteen. The Handloom House is nonparalled in terms of versatility. And it is only the Handloom House that can provide fabrics that are a perfect blend of tradition, myth, faith, need and imagery.