Conversations with the owners of Shreenivas silks : On legacy and the future

In this short blog, we sit down with one of the owners of Shreenivas silks, Mr. Sreenivas Varadan, to understand his thoughts on the state of handloom sector today as well as the future. 

The Interview

 

1. The Beginning

Q: "Let’s start at the roots. What inspired you to enter the saree business? Was it always the plan?"

Not at all. I was an engineer by study. I had just finished my masters in the US and was planning on staying there for a PHD. But circumstances persuaded me to consider coming back and taking the helm of the family business. This was in the year 2012. Of course i had never worked in the business before this point. So a lot of thought went into this sudden shift in my future. 

 

Q: "Was your study related to textiles or designing?"

No. To be fair, i had no prior thoughts of entering into the family business. My masters was in fluid mechanics, with a specialization in computational fluid dynamics. 

 

Q: "Wow that's quite the change, was it challenging to make the shift?"

Sort of. When you enter into a completely new field, its like being born again. You start by just observing and learning how things work, how customers shop for sarees, how the sarees themselves are made, how to choose the colors and designs, etc. But the process of learning is always enjoyable. To be honest, there are still things to learn today

 

Q: "Any specific memories from your initial year?"

Back then, i was working long hours to absorb what i could. I remember meeting this woman in her mid-twenties who had visited our store. She was getting married in 2 months and was very specific on what kind of borders/paloo she wanted on her muhurtham, 9.5 yards silk saree. But she wanted the saree ready by 3 weeks as she had to get the blouse stitched in advance. Her mom and grandmom had bought their 9 yards sarees from us and hence it had a sentimental value to her to purchase from our store. 

 I remember driving up to our loom in Kanchipuram the very next day , sitting with the designer to finalize the punch cards. By afternoon, we had the design ready and in a couple of days the loom was prepared for the saree. The saree was ready in 18 days, just in time for her. Seeing her come and get the saree from us along with her mom and grandmom was a special memory. 

 

2. The handloom sector

Q: "What’s one thing most people don’t realize about hand weaving in general?"

Probably that it takes a lot of work just to weave one saree. And this includes the dyeing, the twisting of the warp threads, the setting of the loom, the designs, as well as the weaving process. 

 

Q: "Do you think handlooms would still exist 20 years from now"

I think so. When i first joined the business in 2012, people were predicting power looms would take over in a decade. It simply hasn't worked out that way. Hand-woven sarees are as popular as they've ever been. 

 

Q: "What are the biggest challenges for the handloom sector and how do we tackle them"

The biggest challenge would be the availability of skilled weavers. Weaving can be a profitable profession but unfortunately in many towns such as Kanchipuram, there is the perception of weaving being a low status profession. We have weavers who earn as much as Rs 25,000/- per month so this isn't an assessment based on income. Promoting weaving as a skill, which it is, and improving the general perception of this craft is one of the most important things we can do to keep the sector alive. 

 

3. Selling sarees online

Q: "Can you tell us about the online store?"

Sure. We started the online store www.shreenivassilks.com around 2018. You would not think of sarees, especially silk sarees, as products people would prefer to buy online. However the opposite is true. Just yesterday, we shipped two muhurtham, nine yards silk sarees to Bangalore and Australia. More than ever before, people are buying sarees online. We have made our store in such a way so that people can shop in peace, browse through plenty of options and pick what they like. 

 

Q: "How can someone make sure the colors on the site are the same as the product?"

That's a good question. We generally color correct our images and videos so colors stay very close to the real life ones. However, colors are subject to lighting, the display device used and so on. Generally we keep the variance as low as possible. This is one of the reasons why we shoot using a neutral tone so as to not enhance the visuals in any way.

 

Q: "How can you explain this growing trend of people shopping for sarees online?"

It used to be that people were very wary of shopping online. But with the advent of social media and 5g internet speeds, more and more content is being delivered to people online. On our site, we have clear pics and videos for each saree. There is also a customer support system in place, which includes live chats as well as WhatsApp support. Shopping online isn't being perceived as being risky the way it once was. 

 

4. The Future

Q: "What is your prediction for the future of the handloom sector?"

Our lives are dictated by non-linear equations that are extremely hard to solve for. So any future prediction is bound to be incorrect. That being said, i think 20 years from now people would still be purchasing and looking for authentic, hand-woven sarees. A lot of work is needed to keep the sector alive though, as i had pointed out earlier. But i see a fresh wave of interest on social media, with women sharing pics of them draped in their favorite sarees. These posts garner a lot of interest. Our customers still insist on wearing hand-woven sarees for their weddings and special functions. We are still very hopeful about the future!