It was a request from the then first lady Mrs. Janaki Venkataraman for ‘Ahimsa’ silk that made handloom technologist Kusuma Rajaiah launch his brand of mulberry silk in 1992. By making silk thread without killing of the silkworm Rajaiah also felt he could fulfil a desire of Mahatma Gandhi. “Gandhiji had written to the Silk Board urging for the Ahimsa process to be followed in producing silk,” says Mr. Rajaiah.
Today this message of the Mahatma through his Ahimsa silk medium has many takers in Germany, Israel, United Kingdom, United States and Europe. The jersey fabric, stoles and silk material are imported by leading designers across the world creating silhouettes for who’s who. For instance, the pre Oscar gown for filmmaker James Cameron's wife was designed using Ahimsa silk. Wardrobes of royal families have Ahimsa silk in them. Megawati Sukarnoputri has been a patron of Ahimsa silk saris. Wendell Rodricks was among the few designers to come up with innovative lines for Gandhi Jayanti with his fabric. Unfortunately there have not been as many takers for his saris, shawls and stoles in the twin cities. Reason? Ahimsa silk is soft, breathable and elegant but is relatively muted when it comes to sheen.
“People prefer fancy saris and heavy pattu silks available at shopping malls. Unlike these saris Ahimsa silk is not even expensive. It only costs 1 1/2 times more than the conventional silk. Recently the ‘Kanchi peetham’ urged devotees to avoid silk fabric as it involves killing of silkworms. Ahimsa silk can sure be an alternative,” says Mr. Rajaiah hoping for a larger market back home for his fabric.
Over the years Mr. Rajaiah has been successful in the revival of the double Ikat peacock motifs of Nalgonda and the Jamdani style from Venkatagiri. Today the Dharmavaram saris from his weavers in Anantapur and silk dhotis from Peddapuram stand out for the drape. The silk and khadi warp and weft is a chic new age design from this APCO employee. “I will take up more research after retirement. I plan to come up with light weight saris soon,” he says.
