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Sircilla: A magician with loom, Hariprasad wants to teach his talent to all
Many foreigners visit Veldi Prasad’s workshop in Sircilla
- A saree that fits match box, sarees passes through ring and needle, miniature looms that fits in a palm, sarees with man figure on the loom are the creations this Sircilla weaver
- Small looms made by him are offered as souvenirs to former President Pranab Mukherjee, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Chief Ministers KCR, Chandrababu Naidu, Rajasekhar Reddy, Roshaiah and Chiranjeevi, he said
Sircilla: A saree that fits match box, sarees passes through ring and needle, miniature looms that fits in a palm, sarees with man figure on the loom are the creations of noted Sircilla handloom worker Veldi Hariprasad.
A resident of Nehrunagar weaver family in Rajanna Sircilla district he studied till class 10 but is doing degree with open education system. He grew up listening to the sound of looms on which his father Poshetti works and watching his mother Rajyam rolling threads.
He developed interest in the looms when his father was working on and repairing the looms. “His attempt at attaching a small motor to a handloom loom attracted me the most.
After seeing the looms, I wanted to make them in smaller sizes, but initially I made a loom with a length of only ten centimeters and weight of two hundred grams from a bamboo stick” he said. “In addition to that, created wheel and warp. They can also be modified to run on cell batteries by attaching a small motor to them,” he added. Additional charms like working and stopping when clapped are added. This experiment attracted everyone. In 2000, in recognition of his micro art, the Central government allowed to exhibit small looms and wheels.
It is satisfying that the looms I have made are souvenirs for famous people like film actor Balakrishna, Hariprasad told The Hans India. The leaders of various political parties used to get me to make micro handlooms as souvenirs. Small looms made by him are offered as souvenirs to former President Pranab Mukherjee, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Chief Ministers KCR, Chandrababu Naidu, Rajasekhar Reddy, Roshaiah and Chiranjeevi, he said.
He informed that he learned to knit for 12 years, doing many experiments over and over again. In 2017, he first made Bathukamma model. In the same order, in the same year, he made a saree that fits in a matchbox, but these cannot be tied.
Sarees that passes a large needle can be tied. Currently a company is making these sarees by him to sell them in New Zealand. This saree costs around Rs. 5, 000 to 8, 000. “I have also experimented a lot in the field of power loom weaving.
In 2018 I wove a Bathukamma figure on a Bathukamma saree. Along with the picture of KCR, I made a picture of Konda Laxman Bapuji on a loom for an award given by the textile department with a Telangana figure embroidered shawl. That’s why I was selected for this award,” he said. “If the government encourages, I would like to train everyone in the art of weaving human figures on the loom. Everyone can learn the process of knitting and weaving a image through the Anu-Yantram. It takes 15 days to make an image,” said the weaver.
Hari Prasad, received praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki baat’. Unique in many ways, however, he wants government support to continue his craft and impart artistic skills to the youth.
His handloom logo was selected for G-20 summit last year. Modi said that Prasad’s mastery of his skills was admirable and mentioned his name for the wonderful gift he received from the leader at the event.
Prasad also wove a handloom saree for Sita Devi at Sri Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple in Bhadrachalam. He made a picture of the Sachin couple woven on a silk cloth On April 24, on Sachin Tendulkar’s 50th birthday and gifted to Sachin’s friend, former Indian cricketer V Chamundesh.
“I take 20 days or more than a month to weave the sarees. We use gold and silver linings to give it a rich look and the symbols of the gods are printed as per the client’s choice,” Prasad said.
The price of sarees ranges from Rs 130,000 to 26,00,000. Prasad came up with a silk fabric called Jana Gana Mana in Telugu during Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav last year and received praise from NRIs.
“Currently, I am using a rented premises for my workshop. I am living on rent. If the government gives me port in the form of allotment of land, I can inform future generations about this dying art. . Due to lack of support port, many youths are switching to other professions,” he said.
