The durrie that brought acclaim to Warangal weavers

It took one year for Pitta Ramulu to plan the design, procure yarn and dyes. In four months, the award-winning weaver made 1.2 lakh worth durrie

It is not every day that handloom weavers smile. While stories of hardship make the rounds every now and then, for 56-year-old Pitta Ramulu from Warangal, the ‘National Handloom Award’ for the year 2015 has brought him cheer.

It is the first time that a weaver from 100-year-old handloom industry of Warangal district got recognised with a national award. “After a long wait the skills of Warangal weavers are recognised at national level. This would help local handloom industry to flourish now,” he shared with The Hans India.

It took Ramulu nearly four months to weave the award winning durrie, besides one year of preparation in designing and getting yarn and dyes ready to begin his ‘Magnum Opus’. It cost him Rs 1.2 lakh.

After finishing his sixth standard, Ramulu started to learn weaving at the age of 11 from his father P Rajeeru. They hail from Ankushapur in Chityal mandal and settled at Kothawada in Warangal in the 60s. He became a master weaver with the experience he gained from his father. He got APITCO training in 2001 in advanced weaving techniques.

For the award-winning durrie, Ramulu took the help of his tech-savvy sons Shanker and Sainath to get the hunting scene of Mughal era depicted in a painting which is displayed in a London museum. “It is an antique and complicated design. The efforts on the design got me the accolades,” Ramulu said.

Explaining about the work put into the durrie, Ramulu said that special type of yarn was picked up to match the pit loom’s dimensions. Special efforts were made to choose the dyes that match the painting and last long.

“I would continue to innovate with new designs. The award would help to get free entry at national and international level handloom exhibitions and ensure a good market for Warangal durries. I have displayed my products in Mumbai, Chennai, Suraj Kund and other places,” Ramulu said.

“We have given up all other production despite financial loss just to work on the durrie. He worked for 12 hours daily on weaving it,” said his wife Radha, who along with her daughter B Swaroopa assisted him in his work. They are happy at their work getting national acclaim.

A large number of visitors arrived at Ramulu’s residence on Saturday to congratulate him for winning the award. Handloom Export Durries Weavers Association honorary president Ch Venkateshwarlu and Warangal Congress president R Srihari have felicitated him.

“The state government is neglecting the handloom industry in Telangana. At least now the government should wake up and initiate measures such as ensuring budgetary and market support for handloom durries of Warangal,” said Venkateshwarlu.

By James Edwin