Think silk and for the average person in Tamil Nadu Kanchipuram comes to mind. But when it comes to weaving pure silk saris Salem is no behind. Traditional weavers at Chinthamaniyur Panchukalipatty and Semmandapatty villages in the district have carved a niche for themselves with saris that bear the silk mark. They say a little-known fact is that many shops in Kanchipuram sell saris made in Salem. These fourth-generation weavers had been selling silk saris across the world. In those days there were no weavers in Kanchipuram M Saravanan a weaver at Chinthamaniyur told TOI. He says Kanchipuram is famous more for selling silk than for weaving it. Silk saris woven in Chinthamaniyur Panchukalipatty and Semmandapatty villages are being sold in almost all major cities across the country and exported to many countries including Singapore Malaysia Australia USA UK and UAE. Travelling on the Salem-Mettur state highway just after Omalur huge advertisement hoardings welcome you. Panchukalipatty village comes first. Its streets are lined with shops selling silk saris. Chinthamaniyur is 4km away and Semmandapatty another 3km. These villages have more than 20 big shops. Over 10 000 families weave silk saris round the clock. Wholesale shops will be buzzing with activity round the year especially in marriage seasons. A variety of saris are on sale - soft silk sari pure jute silk sari dupeon silk sari pure Kanchipuram silk sari wedding designer sari party design sari half-half design sari and brocade design. These cost anywhere between Rs 2 000 and Rs 2 lakh. The shops at Chinthamaniyur Semmandapatty and Panchukalipatty sell saris at wholesale prices. Retail shops will price our sarees at least 40% more said C P Saravanan owner K Perumal Silks at Chinthamaniyur whose family has been in the business since 1967. He says people flock to the village from across the state to buy saris because of the attractive prices and good quality. S Jamuna came to Chinthamaniyur from Salem to buy saris for a function at her house. She said she had been coming to the village for more than a decade to buy saris as they were pure the saris had silver woven with the silk thread. They also have silk mark to confirm its authenticity she said. Besides all the shops stock fresh supplies.
Written by Shahid A. Abbasi | Published: February 28 2018 7:00 pm The head of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Jayendra Saraswathi passed away on Wednesday (Express Archive) In the aftermath of the Godhra train carnage in 2002 and the communal polarization that ensued I published a few articles demonstrating similarities in the messages of the Bhagvad Geeta and the Koran. I showed that Islam sanctifies Sanatan scriptures and acknowledges their contribution in the evolution of Islam. The articles attracted the attention of the Vishwa Hindu Parished (VHP). Their then Vice President Mr Vedantam who was looking after Tamil Nadu from his Chennai office came to Puducherry for a long discussion with me. He then suggested that I should meet His Holiness the Sankaracharya of Kanchipuram. The suggestion was hugely surprising as well as flattering. The Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi was one of the prominent national figures then having tried to negotiate a settlement of the Babri Masjid structure dispute with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). Cabinet ministers belonging to the BJP in the then NDA government used to visit him for advice and blessings. President APJ Abdul Kalam had publicly declared that Saraswathi was one of the most wise and inspiring persons known to him. READ | Who was Sri Jayendra Saraswathi? Devotees used to line up in the hot sun for hours just to get a glimpse. The high and mighty waited for days and weeks to get a minute s worth of his hearing. In contrast I was less than nobody unknown even to AIMPLB! But somehow Vedantam thought there was meaning in taking me to the Sankaracharya. He went a step further to ensure that for a full two hours during the scheduled meeting no one or nothing else not even a phone call should disturb His Holiness. On a balmy Kanchipuram afternoon I found myself walking barefoot along with Vedantam and an aide of his to the Sankaracharya a peetham. Vedantam s presence opened all the otherwise formidably closed doors and soon I was being ushered into the Sanctum Sanctorum the living room of the Sankaracharya. The room turned out to be as spartan as the sage s dress with only a modest cot on which he was sitting wearing little except a single-piece wrap. While Vedantam and his aide greeted the sage by lying prostrate only touched his feet sheepishly explaining that being a Muslim I can prostrate myself only before the unseen God. As the three visitors squatted on the floor for the meeting Vedantam told Saraswathi Professor says that if it is proved that the Babri Masjid was constructed after demolishing a functioning temple Muslims should immediately forfeit all claims . I elaborated saying In Islam it is a sin to damage any place of worship be it a temple a church or any other. No mosque can have sanctity if it has been constructed by destroying another functioning place of worship . A long and potentially acrimonious discussion then ensued. The VHP side presented their version of history as per which hundreds of temples have been destroyed in the past to build mosques. I presented my and a vastly different version of history. I mentioned the case of Mahmud of Ghazni which had been narrated in a gathering by none other than the RSS ideologue K. R. Malkani. When Mahmud of Ghazni offered some of his loot to the Chief Qazi of Samarkand for building a mosque there the Qazi contemptuously spurned the offer saying how can a mosque be built with money tainted by sin . The VHP side insisted But there are stones and pillars bearing carvings of Sanatan gods and goddesses in many mosques which proves that those mosques were built by destroying temples . I said on the other hand it shows the inclusiveness of quintessential Islam. If while building a mosque the Muslims of those times had found remnants of any old and fallen temple they would have honored those remnants by including them in the building of their mosques . I also pointed out that had the builders of those mosques been inimical to other religions they would have avoided polluting their mosques with signs of other religions. With both sides trying to prove their point the debate went on and on. On more than one occasion Saraswathi with an unconcealable tinge of irritation intervened. You may believe this but this is not how it is he said. Mostly though the debate was peaceful. It was a far cry from the expletives and innuendos that fly thick and fast on TV. So said His Holiness if it is proved that the mosque was constructed after destroying a temple the Muslims will give up their claims on it what if it does not get proved and the court judgement is in favor of Muslims? Then I said all true Muslims should immediately gift the site to our Hindu brotheren because true Islam like the true Sanatan dharma by which it has been inspired is a giving religion . By way of some sort of conclusion I said in either case a grand Ram temple should come at that site . If this is how Muslims feel asked Saraswathi why don t they give up their claim to that site now itself? I replied that giving up the claim now will have no honor. Saraswathi spoke about the intransigence of some Muslims on the issue and the necessity that persons like me educate such Muslims. Then he added all Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims. I replied with Sir in the 1970s the world spoke of Irish terrorism. Then it was Khalistan terrorism. It is only from the 1990s that we have begun hearing about the so-called Islamic terrorism .it has as little to do with Islam as Khalistan terrorism had to do with Sikhism or the Irish terrorism had to do with Christianity . On this note the meeting came to an end. Do come again said the Sage. I too very much wished to keep in touch with him. But soon the storm of the Sankaraman case was to break upon his life. He was eventually exonerated but the years of his national prominence were abruptly cut short. They were not destined to return. Shahid A Abbasi is a columnist who also writes ghazals in English and Hindi. An Emeritus Professor at Pondicherry University he can be reached at ) For all the latest Opinion News download Indian Express App Get assembly election result LIVE updates from each constituency in Tripura Nagaland and Meghalaya IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd More From Shahid A. Abbasi Singing Vande Mataram in a changing India For someone like me whose childhood was inseparable from Vande Mataram the mere mention of it now causes unease. If I don t sing it some Hindu boy meets Muslim girl or vice-versa? It s love all We have had both prem-dharmayuddh and love-jehad in our families so we are acquainted with both versions of love... Mohit GroverFeb 28 2018 at 7:21 pmHe was involved with the murder of his disciple he cannot escape that BAD KARMA(7)(12) ReplyKKamal PashaFeb 28 2018 at 10:10 pmWhen reicarnated he will suffer a lot and beg for death which will not come till he is 82 like now.(1)(2) ReplyCChanduFeb 28 2018 at 10:29 pmAnti Hindus tried to blame and tried to create this. Guru ji is more knowledgeable and great human being they don t harm anyone. They do chathurmasya because they don t want to hurt insects born during rainy season. That s the kind of at ude they will have. Its the Anti Hindu and conversion politics tried to blame him so that what ever good things he is doing for Hindus gets suppressed.(2)(2) Reply
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