Yards of plush lavender, cloudy black and rich red. These colours evoke a powerful imagery of the old tradition of silk weaving. Radha Silk Emporium, simply known to all as Rasi Silks has been upholding this tradition. This popular silk destination was started in 1900 in Thirucharai, a small village in Kumbakonam by RKT Bros. In 1915, they shifted base to Madras. They set up shop in Sannadhi Street, Mylapore, in a small agraharam -style house replete with wooden rafters, red-tile roofing and thinnai.
Hailing from the Padmasaliyar weaving community, R.K. Thiruvengadam Chettiyar was a simple weaver who sold silk sarees door to door. Says Jayaram, managing partner of Radha Silk Emporium and RKT's great-grandson, “Those days, there was no such thing as a ‘silk industry'. The weaving community used to make sarees and sell them house to house. Their home was where the looms were situated. The entire family, including the womenfolk, would be involved in the weaving process.”
That rang true for Rasi Silks as well. Jayaram says, “Women of our family have been part of the business for a long time. The backbone of the family was RKT's mother, Alamelu. My mother Pattamal, too, was involved in the business. So is Asha, my wife.”
In the early 1930s, RKT Bros. sold sarees in wholesale, supplying mostly to the elite. Says Jayaram, “We realised that there was only so much we could do through wholesaling. We needed to make more money.” This prompted them to branch out into retailing. And by 1939, the business had grown so much that “we opened a showroom within the house. It was then that the name was changed to Radha Silk Emporium,” says Jayaram.
In the 1950s RKT's grandson Kothandaraman took over the business. Shop space was increased and the name was changed to Rasi Silks as we know it today. A new branch was opened on Mount Road in 1960. But it was as late as 1969 that the store shifted from the tiny house (which now houses their handicraft section) to the behemoth of a building right opposite. This is where Rasi Silks still stands.
Not only did Rasi Silks lead the way in silk retailing in Madras, they also set trends in patterns and colours.
With T. Nagar being a major shopping hub, weren't they ever tempted to move? Jayaram says, “No”. “We started off in Mylapore. Wholesale, retailing, export… everything began in that small house,” he says. “Even though we opened branches elsewhere, Mylapore is where Rasi Silks is. It is home.”
Nalli Chinnaswami Chetty
Standing on a bustling T.Nagar road, and housed in an old-world building, Nalli Chinnaswami Chetty has been selling silk since 1928. Born into the Padmasaliyar weaving community, Chinnaswami Chetty began his business in the weaver's colony in Kanchipuram.
Kuppuswami, his grandson and, now, the managing partner, says, “He used to sell sarees door to door, even coming all the way to Madras to deliver them. As his trips became frequent, he realised that his travelling was cutting into production time. That was when he opened a showroom in Madras.”
The astute businessman that he was, Chinnaswami Chetty chose T.Nagar to settle down. And there has been no looking back since. The store has grown from strength to strength, opening nine branches all over India, and also expanding vertically by starting its own production, dyeing and polishing units. In 1951, the store moved to its current location. A far cry from the 200 sq.ft. showroom it first operated out of, this showroom sprawls an impressive 20,000 sq.ft.
In more than 80 years of its existence, the store has braved the ever-increasing T.Nagar traffic and remained open even during evacuation in the midst of WWII.
