The Rag Rugs of Timli Village

Dunda village Uttarkashi

Apart from the Bhotiyas, there are a few families of weavers from Himachal who have settled in Dunda. I spent the day with Shivram’s family who had migrated from Himachal almost three generations ago. They now have little contact with Himachal and consider themselves natives of Uttarakhand. It was interesting to observe how, after many generations and no physical contact with Himachal, they continue to speak in the language of their forefathers and have not imbibed the Garhwali language, eating habits or clothing. The men wear their customary cap and the older women dress in their traditional Himachali clothing. They marry within their community so have retained their ethnic features. All households have a wooden frame handloom and the women spend the day either washing, cleaning or spinning the wool that they buy from the Bhotiyas.

Mostly men, though I did see a few young women working on the loom, weaving mufflers, shawls, large men’s shawls (panki), fabric lengths for coats, blankets and kamarband, worn by women around their waist that protects their waist from any back pain. The traditional weaving is done with a combination of natural white, black, grey and walnut dyed brown wool. The Himachalis prefer the brown shade for their winter coats. Besides for their own use, they weave for the Bhotiyas as per their specifications, and for the local traders from surrounding areas, who place regular orders. They manage to sell what they produce but their wages are very low.

Over the years, while the costs of living have gone up, there has been no significant increase in their wages. Weavers start work early morning and weave till noon, post lunch they rest for a while and are back to work by 3.00 pm and continue till sunset. With the help of other members of their family who help in the spinning, warping and bobbin making, collectively they earn around Rs. 400 to Rs. 500 per day. This laborious work sustains their lives but there is very little to put aside as savings. Any additional expense such as a wedding or illness in the family puts them in a vicious debt cycle.

There is a school up to class eight within the village and the older children go to the adjacent town for further studies. All young boys and girls go to school and most desire to continue going to college as they feel education will offer them a better life. Not many youngsters want to continue their ancestral profession as they feel the work is too laborious for the money they earn. On the other hand, there are many educated youngsters in search of employment, dreaming of a secure government job, but their education is not adequate to find them a desk job. Even if they do find a job in the city, most jobs do not pay enough to pay for rent and sustain themselves in cities, where the living costs are high. Education has alienated them from their surroundings, and they find their ancestral work inferior and would prefer a city job, often doing mindless manual labour or working as security guard at a mall. This is so unfortunate as with appropriate support and collaborations, handcrafted sector could provide sustained livelihoods for a very large number of artisans without huge investment, saving them from the turmoil of migration.