Meet the younger Telangana weaver holding the Teliya Rumal custom alive

Guda Pavan, a younger weaver from Puttapaka village, is being honoured with the Sant Kabir National Award for his naturally dyed double ikat experiment on a sari

History is quietly repeating itself within the Guda family of Puttapaka, a village in Telangana’s #Nalgonda district, recognized for its weaving traditions.

In 2010, grasp weaver Guda Sreenu was awarded the celebrated National Handloom Award (by the Union #Ministry of Textiles) for his craftsmanship in Teliya Rumal — a labour-intensive double ikat weave recognized for its geometric class and use of pure dyes. Now, 15 years on, it’s his son Guda Pavan who’s getting ready to obtain nationwide recognition of his personal.

Pavan has been named the recipient of the Sant Kabir National Handloom Award (Young Weaver class) — one of many highest honours within the Indian handloom sector. He will obtain the award from President #Droupadi Murmu for weaving a silk sari within the conventional Teliya Rumal fashion.

Double ikat in silk

“I needed to push the boundaries,” says Pavan, talking simply days earlier than travelling from Puttapaka to Delhi. “Single ikat is normally completed on cotton, however I made a decision to strive double ikat in silk utilizing solely pure dyes, it’s way more complicated.”

#Silk, in contrast to cotton, doesn’t soak up pure colors simply and tends to fade with washing. After attending a four-day workshop at #Crafts Council of Telangana (CCT) Spaces in Hyderabad in 2024, Pavan started experimenting at dwelling.

“The hardest half is sustaining consistency,” he says, referring to the exact marking-threading and tye-dye course of, the place warp and weft threads are dyed individually to kind an ideal sample. It took him six months to finish simply 4 saris.

Using pure colors

Pavan discovered the eco-conscious method by watching his father utilizing pure dyes like marigold petals, pomegranate rind, madder roots, indigo leaves, and even jaggery fermented with iron scrap and bark extracts to create hues of yellow, pink, black, and blue.

Drawing from the standard Teliya Rumal motifs — ratham (chariot), muggu (rangoli), yagnam peeta (sacred platform), and kaya (fruit) — he tweaked the designs simply sufficient to mix heritage with a contemporary aesthetic.

This is Pavan’s second journey to Delhi this yr. In March, he and his father represented Telangana at Vividhita Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the place they gave a stay weaving demo attended by President #Droupadi Murmu. Now, he’s returning together with his dad and mom and sister, Guda Shubhadayanki, for the award ceremony.

“An award brings duty,” he says. “With so many artificial dyes flooding the market, it’s not straightforward to guard your craft’s authenticity. But whenever you do, the reward is value it.”