Shovel For The Spindle
Outlook|May 18, 2020
Shuttered silk looms force weavers to work the dirt in construction sites
Abdul Gani
Shovel For The Spindle

THE looms have long gone silent. The traditional hand-operated, bamboo-and-wood contraptions on which skilled artisans weave dreams in threads of silk. And the modern machines that usually whirred day and night to churn out traditional dresses. But Sualkuchi, the silk town of Assam, is silent as a cemetery nowadays, with its fabled weaving industry shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This story is from the May 18, 2020 edition of Outlook.

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This story is from the May 18, 2020 edition of Outlook.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.