US textile historian heaps praises on State weavers

Hyderabad: A textile historian from the United States of America, Kyra Zapf, visited Telangana and has lauded the State's textile sector and the rich skills of handloom weavers.

Kyra, a recipient of Watson Foundation Grant for Research on Weaving, has authored several papers on the history of fabric and as part of her study, she visited nine countries and chose Telangana as her first destination in India and even met the Textile Minister K T Rama Rao at Pragathi Bhavan on Wednesday.

She thoroughly studied the cloth weaving process through handlooms and also on the condition of weavers in Pochampally, Siddipet, Sircilla, Jangaon, Narayanpet and Gadwal. The textile historian shared her important observations with the minister. Kyra said that handloom weavers in the State find a lot of pride in their art and their passion, commitment to the work was more than what she observed in other countries. The handloom weavers' skill and the welfare schemes extended by the Government to them was appreciated by the historian. "Unlike other countries, weavers in the State were concentrated in some pockets which has advantages such as having a brand of their own. This helps in promoting their products in the market. The sustainable fabric used here, the culture and art has huge demand in western countries," she said.

Observing that silk weaving in the State was limited to sarees, she suggested it could be extended to weaving other clothes too which will generate more demand. As part of her research, she studied various aspects of the weavers' lives. Kyra said that she was surprised by the level of awareness they had about the State government's welfare schemes and incentives. "Every weaver knows the kind of support extended by the State government," she said.

Rao appreciated Kyra Zapf for conducting the study by visiting several countries. He said that foreigners like her who research on such aspects can give unbiased and learned opinions and that he would continue to take such inputs. He said, "It helps in framing and amending public policy, the textile sector in the State which was once in crisis has started to thrive". He assured that more efforts would be put in to support the sector and felicitated Zapf by thanking her for understanding the country's textile sector.