ONE DISTRICT ONE PRODUCT

  :: INTRODUCTION ::

       Venkatagiri sarees are generally made of cotton, silk mix, pure silk that are weaved mostly on the traditional pit looms. These sarees are mostly woven with art of Jamdani weaving followed from about 14 generations. It is believed during the time of Venkatagiri Raja, this art of weaving started. Now about 3064 Households of Venkatagiri are involved in the making of the classic Venkatagiri saree. Previously the people from the caste of Padmashali & Devanga communities were mostly involved in this work, nowadays other people are also part of this work. The craftsmen from five generations are involved in the making of this Venkatagiri sarees. As Venkatagiri is a small village of the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. 

      Pure zari threads are brought from Kanchipuram, artificial zari threads mostly ordered from Surat with a cost ranging between Rs. 300 to RS. 3000 as per the pattern of the design.  The adai system is followed for the insertion of the Jamdani work on the loom.

 :: HISTORY ::

       It is said that the weaving at Venkatagiri first originated over 300 years ago and was patronized by the Velugoti dynasty. A group of about 40 weavers were.supported by the Velugoti dynasty for the exclusive purpose of weaving dhoti and turbans made of soft cotton, with sophisticated embroidery to the Royal family. Gradually, the weavers started moving into saree making which was exclusively. made for the queens, royal women and other zamindaris. The erstwhile kingdoms of Bobbli and Pithapuram also encouraged the making of Venkatagiri sarees.

      However now the sarees are woven for public consumption. In Venkatagiri there are about 40,000 inhabitants of which about 20,000 are weavers. The houses are neatly arranged in rows, and almost every house has  30 loom, the entire family is involved in the weaving process in Venkatagiri making the town inhabited by a weaving community.