Textile trails pick up steam among tourists in TN

TN Venkatesh, Managing Director of state-run Cooptex, said that the idea behind starting these tours, known as textile trails, was to give the tourists a glimpse into all aspects of the culture, apart from making them appreciate the handloom varieties. “From food to dance forms and temples — we wanted to club all facets of Tamil culture.” Since February 2017, Cooptex has had six such trails, covering Kancheepuram, Arani, Coimbatore, Madurai, Dindigul and Salem.

Sreemathy Mohan, a textile enthusiast, pointed out that with a number of thriving weaver societies, especially handloom, makes it an ideal destination. “Be it Kancheepuram, Madurai, Thanjavur, Coimbatore or Pollachi, there is a history associated with it. In the case of Thanjavur, we get to know about the patronage Kodalikarupur sarees enjoyed during the Maratha period, and in Kancheepuram and Arani, it was the Saurashtrans who came all the way from Gujarat to give the belts unique varieties of sarees,” she said. Sreemathy added that the added advantage is buying rich handloom varieties fresh from the looms. “The price points are less and that is a big bonus,” she said.

Deepa Krishnan, the founder of Chennai Magic that provides packages for tourists, said that they see around 300 tourists visiting TN. “Our clients are overseas visitors to India, including foreign visitors as well as those of Indian origin. The typical tourists are families or groups of like-minded individuals who are interested in Indian art, music, culture, and built heritage. They come for trips ranging from one week to three weeks in south India.   This year we have a group of eight people from the USA who will be spending three nights in Kumbakonam, where they will visit a Kalamkari workshop to learn about the craft. They are also going to visit a bronze-casting workshop in Thanjavur, a weaver’s cooperative at Kanchipuram, the textile gallery at Dakshina Chitra, and various types of crafts and textiles in Auroville. Similarly, in Chennai, visitors enjoy Kalakshetra and story of Rukmini Devi’s experiments with weaves; they also enjoy exploring authentic handloom shops in the city.”

Similarly, Breakaway Tours that gives tourists a customised itinerary for regions across India, has seen a good demand for the textile trail in Tamil Nadu. The tour crafted by them includes visits of looms in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tranquebar, Chettinadu and Madurai. Shilpa Sharma, founder of the tours, said that people across different field are interested in these tours. “The nuances of the handcrafted products can be explored through these trips. Kancheepuram with its temples, apart from regions like Karaikudi and Madurai make an interesting trip,” she said, adding that Athangudi and its vibrant tiles in Chettinadu also add to the cultural diversity of the trips.

An outstation traveller Jayshri Kannan, hailing from Delhi, said, “I was especially awe struck to know about Saurashtrans in the Kumbakonam belt near Gangai Konda Cholapuram.” Venkatesh pointed out that the interest in Tamil Nadu textiles among non-Tamilians has been a pleasant surprise. “About 80 per cent of the tourists are from the region and, of late, we have also had people from Doha and Dubai coming on these trails. It is nice to see them take such a keen interest in our culture,” he said.