Warangal Dhurrie exponents win State-level award

Warangal : Dhurrie exponents of Warangal have shot into the limelight once again by winning the State-level Konda Laxman Bapuji Awards. The awards were presented by Minister for Handlooms and Textile Tummala Nageswar Rao on the occasion of National Handloom Day in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The two award recipients - Samala Sadanandam and Adepu Srinivas, the duo who resides in Kothawada, Warangal – are among a few artisans still struggling to protect the dying art form.

Dhurrie is the local term for a handwoven rug or a thin flat carpet. Even though Warangal dhurries secured the GI (Geographical Indication) tag a few years ago, the demand for them is very little.

Dhurries shot to fame in the mid-1970s with orders pouring in from all over the country and abroad, especially from the Gulf countries. Once adorned the billets of the Indian Army, the Warangal dhurries started to lose their patronage in the 1990s due to the mushrooming of dhurrie manufacturing units in north India, especially in Panipat, Jodhpur, Agra and Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to The Hans India, Adepu Srinivas said, “I am happy to get the State-level award and a cash reward of Rs 25,000 for producing a dhurrie of Mahatma Gandhi. It took me more than 10 days. I used natural colors.”

Samala Sadanandam who made the dhurrie of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy also got the same award and reward. It took him 11 days to produce it. Both the exponents urged the government to provide houses and free health facilities to the artisans languishing in penury. Despite the huge popularity, what the dhurrie producers get is equal to hand-to-mouth, the duo said.