One of Assam’s oldest handloom enterprise is a small scale family run business, employing fifteen rural women who have been weaving their magic into the traditional looms for 35 years to create unique motifs in sarees and dress materials in Tezpur.
The Vijaya weaving is a small scale handloom enterprise established in the year 1972 by Golaplata Devi. Despite not being educated, she was ahead of her time. She hired 15 rural women who were mostly widows, single mothers or victimized and marginalised in some ways in their life. These women who have been employed here for more than 35 years now are still happy despite the less pay. They say ‘they feel at home and love working here because there is no employer employee atmosphere’.
Although the place has become home for them, Vijaya Enterprise today is struggling to survive because of competition from machine made weaves that have taken over the market. This struggle impacts the highly skilled weavers too who have created magic with their hands transforming pure silk and Muga extracts into beautiful mekhela chadors and dress materials.
The Vijaya handloom enterprise also boasts of creating certain designs and motifs that are unique to them and cannot be found anywhere else in Assam – mainly the traditional kalka and gosphool designs.
Also Read: Can handlooms provide a viable rural livelihood?
Prachi Sharma is an Officer at Village Square. She is also a performance artist who believes that art is a transformative medium that can challenge societal norms.
