As winter sets, the shawl makers at Delduar upazila in Tangail are now spending busy time in producing various colourful shawls at the peak season.
The shawls produced by the local handlooms weavers of Delduar are very famous and have a great demand to the buyers across the country. Local weavers here have already gained popularity for shawls, locally known as Shal-Chador.
Some people of the area said that the Shal Chadar produced at Delduar are becoming more and more popular day after day. Attractive shawls with exquisite craftsmanship and exterior design are the choice of men and women of almost all ages. So, Delduar's shawl has easily taken place in the minds of people as well as women.
The feature of this regional shawl is that they are made of hand-woven yarn with attractive designs. The sheets are being made two-and-a-half cubits wide and four-five cubits long, the artisans said. It is known that most of the clothes are being made in Abadpur and Elasin villages of the upazila. More than 150 families in the region are living by making shawls.
Talking to the loom owners and workers, it is confirmed that they are not able to meet the demand of the buyers in the running winter season even after making shawls in the same way throughout the year. Shawls of various designs including dusuti, pier, nayantara and bahurupi are being made in these looms.
Shahar Ali and Motaleb Duibhai, owners of looms in Abadpur village, told the Bangladesh Post that 3 to 5 shawls can be made in each loom every day. For weaving the shawl clothes, 11 machines are installed in their house. They are working on just 6 designs. Each day the worker is paid around tk. 80 to 120 per clothe. Newly produced shals are sold to wholesalers instantly.
Another loom owner Abdus Salam said that he is currently making shawls with 3 machines. Considering the design, the moneylenders pay tk.40 to 60 per shawl. Usually, 1500 to 2500 shals are made every year. While producing shawls, men as well as women work in spinning.
Weavers Firoz and Rafiq said that they were making shals based on the moneylender's design. They work all year round and can't meet winter demand. The family is going solvently with the money earned by making shals from 4 to 5 every day.
Kaiyum Talukder and Anwar Hossain at Kortia Haat said the artisans were already designed to make shals with colorful yarn to attract the attention of the buyers. Depending on the design, each shal is sold at a wholesale price of tk. 400 to 600 whilein the retail market it is sold at tk. 500 to tk. 1,000.