Pochampally is the most typical weaving village in Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India. This place is popularly known as the Silk City of India. Pochampally is the place where threads and colours find their way into the hands of skilful weavers and meander into the market as beautiful sarees and dress material. Basking under the glory on par with the weaves of other places (Such as Kanchi, Dharmavaram, Gadwal, Venkatagiri etc.), Pochampally weave is popularly known as “Ikkat” or “Tie-and-Dye weave”. The uniqueness lies in the transfer of design and colouring onto warp and weft threads first and then weaves them together. The fabric is cotton, silk and SiCo – a mix of Silk and Cotton. The colours themselves are from natural sources and their blends. Pochampally has traditional looms, whose design is more than a century old. Today this Silk City is home to more than 10000 weaving families in 100 villages. The fabric is marketed through the cooperative society and APCO, the master weavers and the business houses in Pochampally. Pochampally does more than Rs.1000000 Million annual business in terms of yarn sales, purchase of handloom products and sales. (Source: Wikipedia). Here is a collection of few photographs taken during a short visit to Pochampally in July 2012.
The hands are seen as a lady weaves sarees in a workshop at Pochampally.
A worker is busy in weaving saree in the workshop.
The hands of a lady are seen as she works in the workshop.
A lady weaving sarees in a weaving machine.
A lady poses as she works in the weaving factory.
Workers are busy in different works in the factory.
A lady spins the wheel to wind the yarn into the spool.
The hands of a lady are seen as she aligns the yarns to create design patterns in the saree.
Workers are working in the factory.
Kids are playing inside the workshop, as their parents work.
Another lady is seen operating the weaving machine.
A kid plays in front of a giant weaving machine.
A lady spools the silk thread using a spinning machine.
A kid poses against a wall in one of the workshops in Pochampally.
Silk yarns are lying on the ground in one of the workshops.
A man is seen as he dyes the cotton threads. These are the specific dyes uses in fabric industries.
A lady winds the cotton yarn into a spool before those are used in the weaving machine.
A lady is seen as she spools the yarn using a hand-spinning wheel.
Workers are busy working in a workshop in Pochampally.
A lady winds the yarn as her son sleeps in her lap.
A man is seen as he continues to weave silk sarees.
Electric spinning machines are used in bigger workshops.
A lady poses during a break from her work.
A young worker is seen as he marks the cotton yarns before sending them for dyeing.
A family runs a saree shop at their home.
