Shamanna Muggani lives in Ilkal town with his mother, wife and two school going daughters. Living in a single room kitchen house, which also has a pit loom in it, his life is not without challenges but he doesn’t let it dampen his spirit or passion. His family too champions his work and takes pride in his fine weaving skills. Enter the house and his wife will be the first to show you the beautiful pure Silk Ilkal sarees woven by her husband.
Keeping with the contemporary demands, Shamanna usually weaves cotton-silk Ilkal sarees where the body is woven using cotton yarns and the pallav using silk. His wife and mother help him in different weaving processes. Be it the bobbin work for the weft, joining the tana or warps of the next weave to the previous ones or weaving the pallav – the entire family is involved in the weaving the saree. His children too are familiar with different stages and willingly assist their father.
Shamanna started weaving at the age of 15 years after learning the skills from his grandfather. He mostly works with local master weavers and saree traders, while once in a while certain customers come to his home for direct purchases. Chandrakala is one of his favourite designs to weave. While there has been a major shift towards working on a power loom, Shamanna believes that it can’t match the charm of handloom and sooner than later customers too will appreciate and value that distinction.
