Nature bazar Delhi, November 09

Taking part in Fairs and Bazars is always a lot of work, before, during and after. In its short existence malkha has shown twice at the Nature Bazars organized by Dastkar in Delhi and Bangalore. Now the next event is due and we are into the usual flurry of preparations. New this time will be 2 of Sutanu's print designs [see pics]as well as the unbleached plain production from two new centres. Of course old favourites, the natural dyes and pin stripes will be there too. In the pipeline but not ready yet is a portfolio of new weaves by Satish of Kora India.

malkha spinners

At one of our malkha centres there are 24 women who are spinning in their homes on motorized 12-spindle charkhas. More are waiting to join them, but we are not able to produce enough sliver because of the swingeing power cuts - recently from 10 am to 6 pm!

a malkha warp

Before a cotton warp can be mounted on the loom, the limp threads must be made stiff enough to stand the passage of the shuttle holding the weft. This is done by sizing the stretched warp with starch, and in the traditional handweaving process it is done by hand, laying out the warp along the street ['street-sizing', which is the reason traditional weaving villages are laid out along straght lines], spraying on the starch and then spreading it evenly with a sizing brush. In different parts of India different starches are used - wheat, millet or rice. Sizing usually happens in the early mornings before the sun is too hot.

Here are some pictures of a malkha warp being rolled up after being sized by the weaver family.

the malkha advantage

Vishu Singhal, student of Textile Technology at IIT Delhi explains the malkha advantage:
".. the baler compresses the cotton into a rigid cubic structure.. bale density varies from 23-28 lbs per cubic ft. This is a highly compressed structure with a lot of inter fibre entanglements...The condensed bale can't be spun... During the blowroom opearations the fibres are literally torn apart from each other by mechanical action. This degrades some properties of the fibre like lustre and feel...

In contrast, the Malkha process bypasses the whole need of the baling process...the carding machine is ingeniously designed to treat the fibres very delicately...The end product, hence, has a better lustre and a softer feel".

Thanks Vishu.

a snippet from history

John Forbes-Watson was sent out by the new textile industry of Lancashire to find out why Indians still preferred their own to the English cloth, and what were the processes that made even fine Indian muslin durable, unlike the English. After discussing fibre diameter, length, and the number of filaments and twist in English & Indian yarns he says [p 63] "... it being well known that for wear these very fine machine made muslins of Europe are practically useless, whereas the very finest of the hand-made ones from India are proverbially lasting, and bear frequent washing, which the finest English or European muslins do not." [ The Textile Manufactures and the Costumes of the People of India, 1866].

In my personal experience the fine Khadi made from desi cotton, Gossypium arboreum or Kondapatthi as it is known in Andhra, is amazing in its softness and durability. The malkha process aspires to retain these qualities in its cloth, though we have not yet used traditional varieties of cotton.

more about the Bangalore bazar

Many of the visitors to the Bazar were attracted by the look, feel and drape of malkha, and several asked 'Is it khadi?'. We explained that malkha was not handspun, but that its special quality was due to the gentle pre-spinning process unique to malkha. Customers asked if we had a retail outlet in Bangalore, to which we had to say a regretful no. Some people who seemed to like it found malkha 'too pricey', as a comment in our visitors' book says. Of course, compared to powerloom cloth, malkha is much more expensive, but we're confident that it will wear and look much better too.

Back from Nature Bazar

We came back today, tired but happy, after 10 days of Dastkar's Nature Bazar in Bangalore. This was the first one they had held in Palace grounds, and attracted a wider customer base than the Chitra Kala Parishad, which is a better known location. In spite of spells of rain, some heavy, and several afternoons of burning sun - the bazar was outdoors - our stall did well - see attached video. This was our first exposure to Bangalore and, judging from the response, malkha will be popular there... more about the Bazar later