Tightly knit from coarse cotton yarn in standard, vivid colours of red, blue, green, white, orange, and yellow, the GI-tagged Bhavani Jamakkalam carpets of Tamil Nadu were first created and marketed in the late 19th century. They were retaliating against and competing with British-made textiles, which had flooded the markets. Bhavani is a town in the Erode district of Tamil Nadu and is often called the Carpet City.
Woven with rough yarns, jamakkalam handicraft goes back about two centuries but is now on shaky ground. The rich craftsmanship of jamakkalam is losing relevance in today's world. Bhavani village in Erode district is where jamakkalam originated and was first woven by the weaver community called jangamars. Various hand looms are used to create the Bhavani Jamakkalam, including the pit loom and stand loom. These carpets were very high in utilitarian value and woven in customised sizes. They continue to be used as prayer, dining mats, and seating at various social gatherings.
Did you know that Bhavani jamakkalam products are exported to countries such as Singapore, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Italy? According to media reports, a popular Swedish home furnishing brand was known to import Bhavani Jamakkalam for sale across its stores.
Currently, only a handful of aged weavers in Bhavani continue to practice this handicraft, as the competition from power looms has proved to be too tough to beat down. Also, power looms outside Bhavani are still being used to create fake GI-tagged jamakkalams, adversely affecting the actual product, according to many weavers. Producing a GI-tagged item outside its region and on power looms violates the Handloom Reservation of Articles for Production Act 1985. The Tamil Nadu Handloom Weavers' Cooperative Society Co-optex in Chennai took the initiative to revive the Bhavani jamakkalam. They have trained and encouraged weavers in the Kumarapalayam, Mahendranchavadi, Erode, and Salem regions of Tamil Nadu to begin weaving jamakkalam textiles.
Nowadays, to attract more customers and cater to the demands of the home decor market, weavers are deviating from standard bright colours and creating jamakkalam in pastel hues, other non-traditional colour combinations, and patterns. Additionally, weavers are being introduced to new techniques, which will help them create more suitable designs for the modern market. Apart from cotton, combining different yarns, such as jute and cotton or silk fibre and cotton, will also help the weavers create newer patterns that generate interest in the market. Also, the Bhavani Jamakkalam is being turned into shoes, bags, clothes, etc., increasing the handicraft's visibility and market share.
Erode, the nearest transport hub is about 15km by road from Bhavani. The nearest local and international airports for Erode are Coimbatore Airport, at 90 kilometres, and Tiruchirapalli Airport, at 140 km. Erode Railway station, under Salem Division of Southern Railways, is connected with Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Rameshwaram, Ernakulam, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Kolkata. The major state highways (SH) and national highways (NH) connect Erode with major towns and cities in southern India.