As power-looms pushed handloom weavers out of the business, India lost much of its heritage fabrics. The sarees were the first to fall, with many regional handloom weaves quietly erased from public memory. In Karnataka, the Udupi sarees had an almost similar fate. “About 30 years ago, there were nearly 3,000 weavers from the Shettigar community in and around Udupi. Today, only a handful is left and most weavers are above 60. There are very few people left to carry forward the tradition of weaving Udupi sarees by hand now,” said Mamatha Rai who, along with her husband BC Shetty, is working towards reviving the handwoven Udupi sarees.
Udupi saree revivalists live to dye another day
