Tangaliya Weaving: A Languishing Handicraft of Surendranagar District

Indian handloom and handicraft artefacts are incredibly famous all over the world for centuries. They have created their own place in consumers’ perceptions and preferences. Tangaliya Weaving is one of those arts which involve Hands (skills), Head (intellect) and Heart (involvement and dedication) of artisans. It is an amazing art of creating wonderful dotted designs by making colourful knots on warps while weaving which looks dazzling from both the sides of the fabric. This amazing dotted woven textile art has been practiced by Dagasia Community of Surendranagar district of Gujarat. Tangaliya weaving is an indigenous craft of Saurashtra region which is about 700 years old. Previously this art was practiced in many villages of Ahmedabad and Rajkot district too; but nowadays it is mainly practiced in a few villages of Surendranagar district only. This craft had received the GI (Geographical Indication) recognition from the central government in 2009 which needs to be renewed in the nearer future.
At present, the fact is that the market for Tangaliya woven textile is being deteriorated day by day. History says that the villages of this region were cherished with the musical sound of looms before 15 – 20 years; but now most of the units have been closed down due to machine made production and changing trends. This art is languishing and many artisans have switched over the occupation or started weaving the products like carpets, mats, rugs and other products from textiles wastes. Besides, the majority of Tangaliya artisans don’t want their children to learn this art. Hence, the future of such a precious handicraft doesn’t seem safe & secured and its sustainability is in question. Hence, this paper portrays a realistic picture of this art and artisans involved in this work so that appropriate policy implications can be designed to revive and rejuvenate this unique handicraft.