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AP’s ‘tie ’n dye’ designs to adorn Air-India staff

Pochampally saris take wings!

Agencies

Fashions may come and fashions may go, but for Air-India (A-I), tradition seems to be the beauty. The airline’s ground staff will soon be draped in the ethnic centuries-old Pochampally saris. And they will fly on Andhra’s exclusive weave, Pochampally, three months from now. All this, courtesy a sleepy village called Pochampally, in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh.

Here about 5,000 handloom craftspersons weave traditional designs called the ‘tie and dye’ or ‘Ikkat’. The Andhra Pradesh State Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society (APCO) has now made a dent into the elite market by offering the famous Pochampally ‘tie and dye’ silk saris to Air-India, Mr P L Panda, advisor (technical and design), APCO said. “This is the first time that Air-India is giving Ikkat saris to its staff. With a view to encouraging the handloom sector, APCO will supply about 6,400 silk saris at an approximate cost of Rs 1 crore initially,” he says. The order, being worked upon by about 1,000 Ikkat weavers, is expected to be ready by the end of March. Looking at the demand for these saris, we are expecting about Rs 10 crore worth of business by the end of this year. APCO has also approached other airlines for selling these fabrics. The state govt has already filed for patent rights for brand Pochampally under the category of geographically identified products. The designs for A-I have been woven in four colours - green, blue, magenta and leaf green. The yarn has been specially procured from Mysore, Karnataka. On an average, each sari is priced between Rs 1,200 and Rs 5,000. And after saris, it would be neckties for men and then it would be the turn of the salwar kameez!