Chitra Kailash, owner of Chitra Looms, recently opened her second store in Chennai. Her new showroom is in Karpagam Avenue, R. A. Puram. It showcases Kanjeevaram sarees woven at Chitra’s own looms.
The store sells handwoven pattu, silk cotton and cotton sarees, fabrics for pattu blouse, pavadais, pattu veshtis and shirts.
Chitra said she made a modest start, selling sarees stacked in a suitcase. It was in 2016 that she opened her first store in Valasaravakkam, where she resides.
Establishing a firm footprint in the saree business was an unexpected turn. “After Covid, there was a need to engage weavers. I found that I enjoyed working with them and decided to take the big stride,” she said.
Chitra follows the traditional practice of the Korvai weave. “Here, the body and border are woven separately and then interlocked. What makes Kanjeevaram pattu last long is the use of the murukku pattu. For the warp, two threads are twisted together to be used as a single thread. This is what gives the pattu its resilience,” she explains.
A desire to recreate and revive colour combinations and patterns from the past directs Chitra’s creations. “I want people to indulge in nostalgic memories. We are bringing back oosi vanam, vaira oosi, diamond kattam, kattam with thandi kambi, Benaras kattam and so on. For the wedding season, we have brocades with fine zari.”
If you are looking for something modern, you are sure to be disappointed, warns Chitra. “There is nothing contemporary in our collection. Our sarees resemble the Kalakshetra style. All our motifs are clearly transcribed from the temples in Kanchipuram.”
Chitra’s store is located at 12/87 Karpagam Avenue, 1st Street, San Thome High Road, R. A. Puram Phone: 9500803442.
- Report by Kanaka Cadambi
