Today we made the first trip out of Hyderabad, accompanied by Sri, to Pochampally, were they specialise in Ikat textiles. We were fortunate to visit an enormous textile plant, were we have seen every single process of production from spinning of the yarn, to dying and then the weaving of the fabric. What appeared to be at first sight a highly industrial mass-manufactured product, was infact completely hand-made. Naturally, we purchased a variety of products at reasonable prices and the students invested in some hand-made Ikat which they intend to use in their design work.
After the visit to the factory, we returned to the village and visited a family home which were producing similar fabrics, using exactly the same methods but on a smaller scale. Throughout the trip, we were accompanied by the local press, at this particular visit they were delighted to photograph Sölen and Burcu dressed in traditional Indian saris. The novelty of seeing a sari on a women with pale skin and blonde hair was particular exciting for the journalists.
We purchased some additional textiles in a local store specialising in all types of traditional textiles but in particular Ikat.
On our return trip to the city, we were all starving and realised that there was no chance of making it back to an American restaurant chain. We stopped at a local indian restaurant where on close inspection, the students refused to eat but Şölen braved the local cuisine and afterwards commented that it was the best food she had eaten on the trip (non-spicy of course). We made another stop to sample coconut milk from one of the many street sellers.
When we reached to city centre, the students again dined at McDonalds, their preferred Indian cuisine.
After the visit to the factory, we returned to the village and visited a family home which were producing similar fabrics, using exactly the same methods but on a smaller scale. Throughout the trip, we were accompanied by the local press, at this particular visit they were delighted to photograph Sölen and Burcu dressed in traditional Indian saris. The novelty of seeing a sari on a women with pale skin and blonde hair was particular exciting for the journalists.
We purchased some additional textiles in a local store specialising in all types of traditional textiles but in particular Ikat.
On our return trip to the city, we were all starving and realised that there was no chance of making it back to an American restaurant chain. We stopped at a local indian restaurant where on close inspection, the students refused to eat but Şölen braved the local cuisine and afterwards commented that it was the best food she had eaten on the trip (non-spicy of course). We made another stop to sample coconut milk from one of the many street sellers.
When we reached to city centre, the students again dined at McDonalds, their preferred Indian cuisine.
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