Puttapaka Silk Ikat

Telangana is one the states celebrated for being a cradle of Indian ikat. The Nalgonda district in Telangana state has been a perpetual hub for ikat production. Hand weaving continues to thrive in the Pochampally, Puttapaka and Choutuppal areas of the district. The community of weavers involved are Puttapaka Padmashalis. Puttapaka saris are marketed as Pochampally saris and often sold under their name, and not as Puttapaka saris.

The craft is over 200 years old. The ikat is warp-based unlike most other ikats which are designed predominantly on weft. The labor-intensive double ikat is its strength. The warp design requires linear tying of the silk yarn strands. The unique design focus is on symmetry without undermining aesthetics. It closely resembles Sambalpuri saris.

Many textile experts believe that the art evolved in various places in Indonesia and other South East Asian countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand. They have a long history of developing the ikat weaving style; each with a flavor of its own. The colonization of Indonesia and countries in Central America by the Dutch invaders meant that ikat as a textile-art travelled to countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Guatemala.