by  N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC

Recently my wife was airing some of her sarees and I noticed a beautiful bottle green Mysore Silk saree, which was gifted by my father 36 years ago. I was surprised to see that this saree still looked so fresh, elegant and shimmering with the zari shining as if new. This wonderful fabric is magical, since it makes the fairer sex look slimmer than what they are. I then decided to find out more about this namma ooru silk and some interesting facts came out from my research which I wanted to share with my readers.

Year 1911, Sir M. Visvesvaraya (MV), the genius visionary of Mysore, decided to develop sericulture as an economic activity for Mysore. He was helped by one Mr. Appadurai Mudaliar, the first Inspector of Sericulture. They decided to get the help of an Italian expert named Signor Washington Mari to develop a strain of silk worm which would suit this climate. Before leaving for India, Mr. Mari despatched about 12 varieties of pure European and Chinese races of silk worm to breed them at Mysore. Mr. Mari was successful in cross-breeding a hybrid which was better than the original and also disease-resistant. The first factory was established at Channapatna and subsequently sericulture took its roots in other centres at Mysore and nearby places. I am not sure if Mr. Siddharamaiah, our CM, is aware of this Italian connection.

More or less at the same time, that is in 1912, the Maharaja of Mysore, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, decided to open a factory for the manufacture of silk fabrics, exclusively meant for the family members and its armed forces. The looms as well as the yarn were imported from abroad. In 1980, Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) was formed to take over both the factories at Mysore and T. Narasipura. Ksic is probably the only organisation in the world taking care of all gamuts of silk production from reeling of cocoons to the weaving of the pure silk fabrics, all under one roof. Side by side ksic started modernising their equipment to ensure that the quality and the design of the fabrics improved with time.

What is unique about this material? What is the difference between Mysore Silk and other famous silks like Kancheevaram and Benaras? The basic difference is that in Mysore Silk the yarn is processed in grey, woven and then de-gummed and dyed, whereas in other fabrics it is other way round. The yarn itself is dyed and de-gummed before the manufacture of the material. Another basic difference is that Mysore Silk has always used pure zari [65% silver and 0.65% of gold] in their sarees, whereas 90 percent of the sarees manufactured at Benaras or Kancheevaram use tested zari. The unique grainy effect which is seen in the Mysore Silk fabric is as a result of using different twists in the weft yarn. Apart from this, except Mysore Silk, other manufacturers use Chinese yarn and polyester and that is the reason they are able to sell their materials at such a cheap price. The Kancheevaram and Benarasi sector is still unorganised and is distributed all across and the competition among the manufacturers is so fierce that each one tries to get the better of other by manufacturing newer designs and colours. Another major problem facing Mysore Silk is that since Mysore Silk is made in powerloom, intricate designs across the body and pallu is not possible whereas Benaras sarees are still manufactured in handloom and as such intricate designs is possible. But are you aware, Mysore Silk is washable at home, which is not possible in any other material.

Another unique feature of Mysore Silk is the “GI” registry [Geographical Indication], an international patent stamp for the product as well as the name. The factory has installed 139 looms and the manufacturing capacity is around 75,000 sarees a year. But sadly this famous local silk is out of reach for the middle class because of its cost. Ksic being a government body has its problems of over-staffing, a huge corporate overheads and an ageing staff. However, it is to its credit that it is running in profits unlike other government bodies. The last year’s turnover was supposed to be a record, that is Rs. 127 crores. A pittance compared to the turnover of hundreds of crores of Kancheevaram and Banarasi silks. This organisation needs a complete makeover in term of sales, marketing and designing. I would like to give the following suggestions to Mr. Jannu, IAS [MD of ksic], based on my experience of marketing and work at a Central PSU:

1. Revamp the existing showrooms. They are so dull and uninspiring, one hardly gets any walk-in customers.

2. The present sales staff have to be replaced gradually with bright young men and women, with fixed minimum salaries and commissions based on the sales. This will motivate the sales staff to try and sell the higher end sarees and also invite their friends and relatives to buy. The present staff who are so indifferent have to be sent for some motivational training. They have forgotten to even smile [personal experience].

3. Design a mobile showroom on wheels. An old bus can be remodelled. This can be taken to all the huge psus like bhel and bel for on-the-spot sales with credit offers on festival days.

4. Take legal action on all the other silk manufacturers who are present in the website selling spurious Mysore Silks. One has to just type Mysore Silk in the google search and tens of manufacturers appear in the site offering Mysore Silks from Rs. 500 to Rs. 7,000. Since you have the gi patent for name also, no other manufacturer can sell their product as Mysore Silk.

5. Start actively to export this material. There is a big market for manufacturers with “gi” tag. Money is no constraint; 50 dollars a metre is no big deal in the international market.

6. Buy the latest jacquard machines with 5,000 hooks for wider design capabilities.

7. Try to introduce hand painted sarees, exclusive block printed or embroidered sarees in select outlets. There is always a demand for exclusive materials.

8. Tie up with some national fashion designers to ensure presence in big events like Lakme Fashion Week or any other fashion event. This year I saw some designers promote Kota materials in a big way.

9. Introduce summer and winter collections/colours and have regular fashion shows in Golf Clubs across Karnataka using local fashion designers.

10. Regular mailers to all the Golf members across Karnataka, with an extra discount offers of Rs. 200 thrown in for the customers carrying the mailers to the showroom. This extra discount should be over and above any discount on offer. This kind of mailers is very popular abroad and it can be tried in Karnataka also.

11. Start another unit at Bangalore with tested zari or moga silk to reduce the cost. One can call these product as “Bangalore Silk”; the low income groups would be happy with these products.

12. Start a ‘Silk Tour’ at Mysore for international and domestic tourists using the services of a local travel agent on the lines of Wine Tour, very popular abroad.

13. Try new avenues of advertisements like radio jingles in the fm radios. Very effective.

14. The Ad Agency lacks creativity. The ads in the newspapers are just boring.

15. Please explore the possibility of manufacturing silk upholstery materials. Though it will be very expensive, there is a good export market demand for these materials.

16. Announce a design competition with a prize of one lakh for best original design, both for crepe silk and printed silks.

Sir, some of my out-of-the-box suggestions may sound absurd/outlandish but I am sure that even if some of them are implemented, the sale of your products can be doubled. Sir MV started this economic activity at Mysore more than 100 years back. Let us take it forward and increase it by leaps and bounds since we have an incomparable product, that is “The Mysore Silk.” This would enormously benefit the sericulture farmer and the modern youth in terms of increased employment opportunities. Next time I visit the US or Singapore, I will feel very proud to see namma ooru silk sold across the counter at some departmental store there (All the technical details, courtesy: Mr. Sadanandaswamy, General Manager, ksic, Mysore).

[Do write your comments to: ananthballal@yahoo.com]

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / May 15th, 2014