Ikat sarees and kurtas for women

dāram, Hyderabad’s exclusive Cotton Handloom Garment Store, presents sarees in chitiki tie & dye technique of Nalgonda, woven by K. Narasimha, chitiki expert of Koyyalagudem, Nalgonda. 

K. Narasimha is 78 years old and has been practicing chitiki technique for the last 55 years. He started weaving when he was 16 years old and learnt tie & dye technique at the age of 20 years. He started his chitiki practice by weaving telia rumal thaans forty years ago. He worked for the handloom co-operative in Koyyalagudem and wove ikat sarees, dupattas and shirting in both single and double ikat techniques. He is a very skilled artisan who continues to produce fine ikat in natural dyes along with his wife K. Manemma.

He also worked as a tie & dye trainer for 20 years for Weavers Service Centre, Hyderabad. He has trained over 300 weavers across 12 co-operatives in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu during these trainings.

Also available are telia rumals which are traditionally made in maroon, white and black using natural dyes. This practice has disappeared slowly and today, K. Narsimha is the last of the practicing experts.

Along with a limited collection of natural dyed ikat sarees dāram will also launch a range of ikat kurtas for women in vibrant azo free chemical dyes.

Natural dyed ikat sarees are designed and produced on the lines of traditional chitiki of Nalgonda. The sarees are woven with yarn dyed in blue, black and red using natural dyes. Ikat range of kurtas for women come in a range of colours and this range also reflects the traditional chitiki of Nalgonda.