UMA SANKAR DAS BHUYAN
A story woven in 9 yards

This photo story is about the Varanasi handloom industry and the handloom weavers.
An Indian woman's wardrobe is incomplete without a Benarasi sari. These sarees are woven with fine silk and intricate designs where a lot of hard work goes in. The art of making these sarees have been handed over from generations. Their art of printing motifs on this 9 yards of elegance involves lots of patience and diligence. The mechanical handlooms have started to replace the age-old traditional hand weaving artistry as the markets are flooded with a demand for faster production and large quantities so the handloom weavers are facing a major threat to their survival, in keeping the age old tradition alive. On my trip to Benares I had a chance to meet these fine artists who let me know that their art was fading away with the mechanisation of the fabric industry. They are trying to save their culture of weaving and printing which had been passed on from their earlier generations.

Author
I am Uma Sankar Das Bhuyan, 27 years old from Assam, India. An engineer by profession and a photographer by passion. My interest in travelling and meeting new people instilled in me the passion for photography. I love to capture the myriad expressions and emotions in my day to day engagement. I am mostly interested in street photography, documentary and also travel photography.

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