The lungi weavers of Thirumazhisai
The handloom industry is almost dead, but some hardy weavers manage to exist. There are a few handloom centres around Chennai. Anakaputhur and Thirumazhisai are two places which come to mind when you talk of weaving around the city.
Thrumazhisai still has a few surviving handlooms which make lungis for well-known brands like Kibs.
The handlooms are located in small dingy sheds where a pit is made to fix the loom. The weavers, both men and women, stand inside the pit to manipulate the warp, weft and the shuttle. Some hand weaving takes place on the roadside also using fully manual methods.
Natraj, the weaver on the roadside told me that it takes about 5 days to complete a set of 8 lungis in one length by the manual method.
Madras Nalla Madras. A photo blog on Madras, that is Chennai 