Weavers of Chhota Udepur exhibit their craft at NIFT, Gandhinagar on National Handloom Day

VADODARA: 'Kasota' weavers from Chhota Udepur exhibited their craft on National Handloom Day at National Institute of Fashion Technology in Gandhinagar.
‘Kasota’ weaving is a specialized skill mastered by the weaving community of Chhota Udepur but is dying slowly due to decreased demand.
It is technically a ‘langot’ or loincloth woven for Rathwa tribal males. The cloth’s ends are woven to create colourful intricate or simple patterns.The loincloth is a single foot wide and more than 2 feet long.
Vadodara-based Bhasha Research and Publication Centre (BRPC), which is reviving this dying craft at the Adivasi Academy in Tejgadh village of Chhota Udepur, was also invited for the exhibition. Works of two weavers – Ratan Vankar and Bhurla Bhinde – were appreciated and the duo was felicitated by minister of state for food, civil supplies and cottage industries Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. Experts at BRPC said that the exposure received at the handloom exhibition will boost the weavers.
There are now very few elderly weavers who practice this craft as the younger generations have explored other opportunities due to low demand for ‘kasota’. However, the elderly weavers continue to weave the loincloth and have also adapted to making stoles, dining table runners and napkins.