Gopikka Handloom

If you walk down Kalaingar Salai in Vengamedu, you’ll hear the sound of the looms. That’s where we are, at No.-40/111 in V.V.G. Nagar. Gopikka Handloom is a small operation, mostly just me and a couple of relatives. We’ve been working these looms for as long as I can remember. My father taught me the trade right here in this room. It gets very hot in the summer, and the dust from the cotton hangs in the air when the sun shines through the windows. We don't use the big industrial machines. Everything we do is by hand, the old way. It takes longer, and sometimes the patterns aren't perfectly straight, but people seem to like that. We have piles of colorful thread everywhere. Sometimes the local kids come in to watch us work for a bit. We don't have a shop window or a big sign. You just walk in through the front door. We sell to people in the village and sometimes to traders who come from the city. It’s hard work on the back and the eyes, especially as I get older. But it’s what our family has always done. We stop for tea when the sun is highest. It’s a simple life in Vengamedu, and we’re content just keeping the looms moving every day. No big plans or marketing, just weaving.