Karpasi - A Dream Come True

Karpasi is a dream project for everyone here at the AHC Foundation. And like most dreams, it was not an easy one to realize.You may ask, why?? What’s impossible about weaving a cotton sari?? Cotton - so humble, so unassuming, that it’s often overlooked, considered ordinary, and sometimes even inferior. Similar to cotton is the life of the cotton farmers who have to toil and fight against hardships and hardships, hostile weather, money lenders, and still, never get any acknowledgment or even be noticed in the larger scheme of things. And then comes the weaving.. weaving not in power looms but by hand..hand weaving cotton, creating the desired motifs is no mean task. It’s much more challenging, time-consuming and back-breaking compared to its silken counterparts. A korvai cotton has become quite unheard of in the lanes of Kanchipuram.. how did it travel from occupying a place of pride under the Chola dynasty to something so obscure?? If we all as ambassadors and as patrons stop to ponder, we will realize the answer is staring at us. The moment we stopped being informed and aware consumers, the moment we stopped asking the right questions, the moment we stopped buying the right products, the moment greed took over, the moment buying handwoven, handcrafted became a rat race.. all this was the death knell for a large number of handmade, handcrafted products including the cotton korvai as the market was flooded with cheap imitations which everyone was more than happy to buy. But thankfully we at the AHC Foundation managed to find and work with weavers who understood the sheer luxury and charm that a well crafted, hand made cotton korvai exudes. It’s taken a long long time as it’s challenging to create something which hasn’t been created in a long time, but true to our beliefs we persevered. And we are so glad we did, as she truly is a beauty.We are so glad that we are finding the right people to work with and move forward on this journey as we pay our tribute to the millions of faceless, nameless cotton farmers across the length and breadth of India.

A little about the technique: 

Korvai is an ancient and complex technique of weaving, practiced in Kanchipuram. The word ‘korvai’ in Tamil means ‘in sync’. Korvai is used to interlace the borders with the body of the sari. The contrasting colours of the borders in the weaving of the weft are interlinked with the body of the weft with each throw of the shuttle. Two weavers are required, one to operate the threads for the central portion and another to operate the border colours. Since borders often appear on both sides of the saris, each Korvai Kanjivaram sari requires three shuttles.

The elaborate pallus are also linked to the main body of the sari using a special interlinking weave known as ‘pitni’. In the hands of the skilled craftsman, this pitni looks like one continuous weave. Korvai is also distinguished by its motifs, often inspired by the beautiful carvings found in the temples of Kanchipuram. The hallmark of the Korvai is its vivid colours and contrasting borders. 

A highly labour intensive technique on a difficult fiber in cotton makes each piece in this collection prized and rare pieces of art.