Korvai is the illusive term that means to loop or interlock. In Tamil, Korvai is a short form of Kothu Vangirathu (interlock).
This is a technique used in handloom weaving (saris and dhotis) and is used widely in different parts of the country in different ways. It is called by different terms like Kuttu, Kondi, Kumbha, Korial etc.
It is still widely used in Orissa, Vidharbha, Chattisgarh and other areas where mechanical devices have still not made a headway - probably because of the labour situation.
This technique is used to interlock the border to the body of the sari especially where they are two separate colours to produce a stark contrast between the two.
In some regions they use the interlocking to create a pattern like the temple, kumbha etc.
So why is this technique so difficult, why did it dilute as a technique? It requires two people to throw the weft shuttle from end to end and nimble fingers to interlock the two yarns. In Tamil Nadu where the Korvai was synonymous with the Kanjivaram, the technique was almost lost . More so because in this region the 2nd person assisting was more often a child, and with the Child Labour Act, one was not allowed to have children working on the loom. And the costs of having two adults on the loom was prohibitive. Tamil Nadu, also being a highly industrialised and literate state, labour is hard to come by as migration to better vocations is very high, unlike some areas of Odisha / Chattisgarh.
This is what killed the Korvai in Tamil Nadu until a device was invented to simplify the same.
Tamil Nadu Weaver Service Centre then devised a machine called The SPS KORVAI after the genius of a weaver Mr SP Subrahmanyam who invented this machine. This is a slider with a mechanical lift device which helps the weft shuttle move from end to end. The weft shuttle of the body is passed between the two borders. Then the weaver interlocks it with the weft of the border on each side as it goes across back and forth. In SPS KORVAI, the lift is fixed to the fly shuttle. First the weft of the body is passed by lifting the fly. Then the box is pressed down and the slider moved. Then the weft of the border is passed. Then again, the fly moves left to right and then the other side again. There is one shuttle for one border on one side and so also for the other. So, when they do this up down motion along with the slider, the weft of the body goes right to left and the weft of the border moves in accordance with the slider interlocking at the joint. Hence the work becomes easier and faster and can be managed by one man alone.
But what the SPS Korvai cannot do is create that signature of irregular temples. If one observes closely there is an imaginary line where the shuttle ends and all the temples will end at that line.
