Meet the younger Telangana weaver holding the Teliya Rumal custom alive

Guda Pavan, a younger weaver from Puttapaka village, is being honoured with the Sant Kabir Nationwide Award for his naturally dyed double ikat experiment on a sari

Historical past is quietly repeating itself within the Guda family of Puttapaka, a village in Telangana’s Nalgonda district, recognized for its weaving traditions.

In 2010, grasp weaver Guda Sreenu was awarded the celebrated Nationwide Handloom Award (by the Union Ministry of Textiles) for his craftsmanship in Teliya Rumal — a labour-intensive double ikat weave recognized for its geometric magnificence and use of pure dyes. Now, 15 years on, it’s his son Guda Pavan who’s making ready to obtain nationwide recognition of his personal.

Pavan has been named the recipient of the Sant Kabir Nationwide Handloom Award (Younger Weaver class) — one of many highest honours within the Indian handloom sector. He’ll obtain the award from President Droupadi Murmu for weaving a silk sari within the conventional Teliya Rumal type.

Double ikat in silk

Double ikat cotton sari
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular association

“I needed to push the boundaries,” says Pavan, talking simply days earlier than travelling from Puttapaka to Delhi. “Single ikat is often completed on cotton, however I made a decision to attempt double ikat in silk utilizing solely pure dyes, it’s way more advanced.”

Silk, in contrast to cotton, doesn’t take in pure colors simply and tends to fade with washing. After attending a four-day workshop at Crafts Council of Telangana (CCT) Areas in Hyderabad in 2024, Pavan started experimenting at dwelling.

“The hardest half is sustaining consistency,” he says, referring to the exact marking-threading and tye-dye course of, the place warp and weft threads are dyed individually to kind an ideal sample. It took him six months to finish simply 4 saris.

Utilizing pure colors

Pavan (proper) at his loom
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association

Pavan discovered the eco-conscious method by watching his father utilizing pure dyes like marigold petals, pomegranate rind, madder roots, indigo leaves, and even jaggery fermented with iron scrap and bark extracts to create hues of yellow, pink, black, and blue.

Drawing from the standard Teliya Rumal motifs — ratham (chariot), muggu (rangoli), yagnam peeta (sacred platform), and kaya (fruit) — he tweaked the designs simply sufficient to mix heritage with a contemporary aesthetic.

That is Pavan’s second journey to Delhi this 12 months. In March, he and his father represented Telangana at Vividhita Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the place they gave a dwell weaving demo attended by President Droupadi Murmu. Now, he’s returning together with his mother and father and sister, Guda Shubhadayanki, for the award ceremony.

“An award brings duty,” he says. “With so many manmade dyes flooding the market, it’s not simple to guard your craft’s authenticity. However if you do, the reward is price it.”