Among the traditional handlooms in Bengal, Begumpur handloom, Santipur handloom, and Dhaniakhali handloom sarees have earned worldwide recognition. The well-known Dhaniakhali sarees, Baluchuri katkol, Mata, Jakart, and others are in great demand in both the national and international markets for their superior quality and marvellous, eyecatching artistic designs.
The state chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, has taken up special initiatives to encourage Bengal handloom, with Tanuja and Biswa Bangla purchasing sizable quantities of Dhaniakhali handloom sarees every year. The secretary of the Dhaniakhali handloom cooperatives, Mr Dinabandhu Laha, said that despite the state government’s efforts to promote Bengal handloom through skill development training sessions and handloom sari melas, the prospects for Dhaniakhali sarees remain bleak. The secretary explained that women play a crucial role in cleaning, bleaching, colouring, and polishing the available yarn in its raw form.
The entire process is complicated and time-consuming, and the women groups entrusted with yarn processing are demanding enhanced payments, which cannot be fulfilled due to the limited profit per sari. Weavers take at least two days to weave a sari and receive payment within the range of Rs 500-250, which they find insufficient to meet their families’ needs. Moreover, power looms pose a tough challenge to handlooms, as a power loom can weave at least ten sarees per day, and common people cannot differentiate between handloom and powerloom woven sarees. Currently, the number of Dhaniakhali handlooms has fallen alarmingly from 430 to 130. Mr Laha added that the greatest challenge Dhaniakhali handloom faces is from within. Most of the handloom weavers are over 60 and struggling with old age ailments. Unless the new generation comes forward to carry forward the traditional Dhaniakhali handloom, the handloom’s prospects appear bleak.
The present generation, not much aware of their glorious family tradition of Dhaniakhali handloom, are opting for jobs in the private sector and building construction sector. The state government may need to come up with innovative initiatives to motivate and encourage the present generation to uphold the traditional glorious Dhaniakhali handloom and continue mesmerising the world with superior quality sarees depicting the traditional art of Bengal