The Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks and Geographical Indications granted the long-awaited ‘GI’ recognition to the Patteda Anchu saree from Gajendragad in Gadag district in north Karnataka in March.
This traditional hand-woven cotton textile with natural colours is known for its bright colours and simple design. It earned its name from its large borders and chequered patterns. It is the daily wear of farm labourers and weavers in the region, known as ‘rough use saree’, made of coarse cotton fibre that can be easily washed and dried at home. Only yellow, blue, pink, green and maroon colours are used for dying. Black and grey are not used as they are considered “inauspicious”.
The sap of plants, like ladies finger, acasia gum and a light coloured mud found along village tanks, is used as the base for preparing the colours of these sarees.
“Patteda Anchu sarees are produced by individuals, and members of cooperative societies and groups in and around Gajendragad. The saree weaving tradition is unique because weavers do it sitting in kuni looms, dug into the earth. It is part of the living tradition in weaving, and is at least 500 years old,” said N. Gopikrishna, a handicrafts promoter.
“We are happy to get the GI certificate as we believe it will protect our craft in future,” Maruti Shabadi, secretary of the Gajendragad Weavers’ Cooperative Producers Society, told The Hindu.
The first application was filed in 2019, as the society wanted to fight against the rising trend of mass produced power loom sarees.
The society, established in 1944, has 1,127 members of which 137 members transact regularly, by buying raw material and selling sarees to the society. It employs around 30 weavers, who are paid around ₹200 per saree. The society sells sarees in the range of ₹700-₹1,000. The society produces around 25 sarees per day.
“On average, the society produces around 9,500 sarees of around 38 patterns. They are sold to wholesalers who, in turn, sell them to consumers in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. The society is considering launching its own e-commerce website,” Shabadi said.
The traditional hand-woven cotton textile is known for its bright colours and simple design. It earned its name from its large borders and chequered patterns.
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Benefits of GI tag
“Textile Department officials have assured us that it will act like a patent and protect our knowledge base. Officials have assured us that they will issue notices to people who try to copy our design or produce fake Patteda Anchu sarees in power looms,” Shabadi said.
According to him, faculty members of the M.S. Ramaiah Law College and the Ramaiah Centre for Intellectual Property Rights provided assistance to members of the cooperative society to present their case before the GI commissionerate. Officers of the Commissionerate of Textile Development, and Director of Handlooms and the Visvesvaraya Trade Promotion Centre coordinated the movement of the application. A team led by Sangeeta M.S., a professor of law, visited the society, stayed in Gajendragad for a few days and documented their work by taking pictures and videos. “They did most of the paperwork. We went to Bengaluru whenever we were called,” Shabadi said.
He said that the society would work with the Karnataka Handloom Technology Institute in Gadag, which would set up a laboratory to check the quality of the sarees and to detect fakes.
On average, the Gajendragad Weavers’ Cooperative Producers Society produces around 9,500 sarees of around 38 patterns. They are sold to wholesalers who, in turn, sell them to consumers in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi.
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Five textiles from Karnataka
Of the 48 GI tagged products of Karnataka, only five are in textiles. They include the Ilkal Saree, Molkalmuru Saree, Guledgudda Khana and Udupi saree, along with the Patteda Anchu saree. However, weavers say the number of GI products should increase to protect their craft.
Gurulingappa Gombi, secretary of the Hatagar Nekar Samaj, says that for every one product that has got a GI tag, 10 have been left out. “Products like the cardamom garland from Haveri, Kala Bhat rice from Khanapur, small brinjal from Hukkeri, and Dyamanur Chilli from Kundgol deserve to be included in the list,” he said. He wants the government to set up exclusive GI shops in districts and taluks, and to issue an order that GI products be given as gifts in government functions, instead of bouquets and shawls.
He felt that the GI tag had not had any visible positive effect on weavers or craftsmen. “The sale of Channapattana toys or Mysore Ganjifa cards may have gone up as the products are available in big cities like Bengaluru and Mysuru. But the situation of rural artisans is very different. There has been no automatic expansion of the market or tourist footfalls due to the GI tags,” Gombi said.
The Gajendragad Weavers’ Cooperative Producers Society will work with the Karnataka Handloom Technology Institute in Gadag, which would set up a laboratory to check the quality of the sarees and to detect fakes, says the society secretary.
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More awareness
Ravi Patil, president of the Belagavi District Weavers’ Association, said there is a need for a higher level of awareness about such facilities. “The skills of rural weavers and handicrafts persons are so diverse that each district or each taluk in northern Karnataka has a distinct type or design of sarees. Most of them are being made by power looms now. They need to be protected by GI tags or other measures. Nine out of 10 weavers are unaware of what GI tags are or their benefits. The government should not only conduct awareness camps for weavers and handicrafts persons, but also support groups of skilled workers with legal support and funds to apply for GI tags,’‘ Patil said.
According to him, among the problems faced by weavers is lack of access to easy credit, un-interrupted raw material supply, lack of a platform for reaching to retail customers, and absence of compensation in times of natural disasters.
Gajanan Gunjeri, founder of Karnataka Weavers’ Welfare Association, demanded that the State government shift the Commissionerate of Textile Development to the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi, so that the issues of weavers are resolved locally. “We have been fighting for this for years, but successive governments have ignored it,” he said.
The State government has been urged to set up exclusive GI shops in districts and taluks, and issue an order that GI products be given as gifts in government functions, instead of bouquets and shawls.
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MSIL’s plans might help
A solution seems to be in sight.
Manoj Kumar, Managing Director, Mysore Sales International Limited, said the State government is planning to provide an online platform for the sale of GI-tagged products.
“We are developing a portal to facilitate public procurement. It will also have a business-to-consumer section. We are including GI-tagged products there. GI-tagged products will be our priority,” Kumar said.
Details on GI tag can be obtained from the website of the India Patents Office.
Published – April 18, 2025 06:21 am IST
