Reliance Dyeing Works

Down in Nallur, Kancheevaram, we spend our days at number 779. This is where all the dyeing happens. The air usually smells like steam and the different chemicals we use to get the colors right. It’s a damp kind of work and we are often wearing rubber boots to keep our feet dry. We have these big vats where the fabric gets soaked and moved around. It takes a lot of patience to get the shade just where it needs to be. Sometimes we have to redo a batch if it doesn't look right under the light. We have lines outside for hanging things to dry when the weather is good. If it rains, we have to scramble to get everything under the tin roof. The floors are always stained with different colors, mostly blues and reds from the various jobs we've done over the months. It’s not a clean or quiet job, but it’s what we know how to do. We don't have any fancy machines for everything, a lot of it is still done by hand or with simple tools. We’ve been at this location for a long time and everyone in the area knows the sound of our pumps. It’s hard on the back but we just keep at it until the day is done. We start early in the morning while the air is still cool enough to work.