Sree Vijayviardhan Handloom

Sree Vijayviardhan Handloom is located right on Mente Vari Street. It’s a place where things are still done the slow way, mostly by hand. We spend our hours sitting at the looms and keeping the threads moving. The rhythm of the work is something you get used to after a few years. It’s not a quiet place, but it’s a different kind of noise than a modern machine shop. You can hear the wooden parts clicking together all day long. Mente Vari Street is where we’ve always been. We don’t have a big staff, just a few people who have been doing this since they were young. The air in here is usually full of a bit of lint and the smell of the yarn. We don’t use computers for the patterns, we just remember them or follow what was done before by the older generation. It’s honest work and it takes a lot of patience to get the tension right. If you come by, you’ll see stacks of finished pieces waiting to go out to the markets. We don’t hurry things because that’s how mistakes happen in the weave. People know where to find us if they want something that wasn't made in a giant factory. It’s just us and our looms on this street, keeping the tradition going as best as we can. Sometimes we sit outside for a break when the sun isn't too strong. It’s a simple life for us.