Ilkals and khun, love of rustic weaves



People go to Dubai to shop, Singapore to shop, and celebrities go to high streets in London and Paris…. But what can be this fascinating. Small town, ancient, historic and town I was so thrilled to visit, where I could also shop.

 Badami, a town I knew only from Kalki’s ‘Sivagamiyin Sabatham’ before I started looking at our history and heritage little more seriously. Looking at the Badami of today, I can’t even keep guessing where the Chalukyan palaces would have, where Sivagami would have kept under say house arrest. There was just one pretty run down, but probably one of the tolerable places to stay was booked for three nights stay. For, I wanted a full day for Badami, one for Pattadakkal, Aihole, Kudala Sangama…I had noted down Ilkal weaves in my note book and thought should look for it. As luck would have it, just as we headed to the restaurant attached the hotel where we stayed, there was a small notice, Siddhalingeshwariya Jawali for Ilkal sarees.

 We went to Banashankari temple, and the jatre was on in the town and so full of people and roadside shops. That evening and next, two days in a row, we walked down the narrow bazaar road, rather the only main road in the town to shop at Siddhalingeshwariya Jawali. A small shop, with an old world décor of wooden panelled shelved with glass doors, mats drawn on the floor to sit down. Lot of Khun material was bought for blouses, and a couple of Ilkal sarees. This #100SareePact saree is one from that shop, the other silk with mercerised cotton, amma has and I occassionally borrow.

 The shop keeper, now I have forgotten his name, was more interested in talking about Bombay, for he said his sisted lived there. That was the after sunset routine for us in Badami. What a satisfying trip. I was just that summer before the Badami trip decided to revisit Mahabalipuram. The Sunday after the Hampi/Badami visit sat through to re-read Sivagamiyin Sabatham, feverish pace helped me complete it much past midnight. Coming from the Pallava territory, I keep seeing their legacy so often, but yet to fully explore the Chalukyan glory. Some day I should, and probably I will come back and for the rest of my life would be wearing only Ilkals and Khun :)

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