Keeping up with the tradition, Kalaneca has been putting up the legacy of Uppada sarees on the Handloom Map of the World. In an exclusive chat with The Pioneer, Ramya Rao, the founder takes us through their journey and the inspiration behind it.
Rashmi Bhumireddy
Remember the days when our parents got us dressed in Pattu Langas or half sarees, especially during birthdays or weddings? Irrespective of the trends in sarees, the love for silk never fades away in our Indian society.
Unlike other online websites or shops that just carry or flow with the trends by selling the latest sarees, two engineers, Ramya Rao and Kavea R. Chavali, have launched a clothing brand, Kalaneca, which revives the fresh golden memories of our love for rare and pure Uppada silk.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Ramya Rao said, “The word Kalaneca— ‘Kala’ means art and ‘Neca’ means marriage. Though we launched this brand in 2014, the seeds were sown in 2000. Our childhood was all over India, as our father (Cdr. Rajeswara Rao) was with the Indian Navy, but we settled in Kakinada at the age of 16. That was when our journey to explore Uppada began. What motivated us to launch is that during our childhood days, me, my sister Kavea R. Chavali, and my mother Latha Rao were residing in Kakinada. During that time, we used to pay a visit to Uppada village, Andhra Pradesh, and interact with the weavers there.”
They also observed the weavers, especially in their work, i.e., how they weave beautiful silk sarees. Back then, these mesmerising sarees were generated or produced on a small scale. However, as time passed, “We were caught up with our routine lives like education, and careers, thereby not paying a visit to the village. When we moved to Bombay, we missed those colourful days of the weaving of silk sarees by skilled weavers, etc. We are constantly reminded of those memories, which pushed us to create a base or foundation for Uppada weavers in order to make them popular in our country. In 2022-2023, I had left the organisation I was working for. My sister and I started working for Kalaneca by writing various articles and blogs, pitching for the weavers, etc. My mother has been enthusiastically involved in this by interacting with the weavers. Uppada silks got their GI tag in the early 1990s; however, they weren’t recognised for their beauty as people were unaware of this rare gem. Despite coming from an engineering background, we have a huge passion to popularise Uppada silks in the country. This passion and purpose drive us to launch the Kalaneca. This began the journey of Kalaneca. We started Kalaneca as a hobby in 2014. Kalaneca Company was founded in 2018.”
She also said that the specialty of Uppada silks lies in the style of weaving. Unlike other silk fabrics such as Banaras, Kanchipuram silks, or Kanjiram silks, the entire saree is woven in one shot along with a blouse. There is nothing attached to the saree. However, in the case of other silk sarees, for instance, Kanjivaram sarees, the borders are attached to the saree. But in the case of Uppada silks, nothing is attached. The other specialty of Uppada silk is being lightweight. Even the grandest of Uppada sarees are very light in weight—approximately around 300–400 g.
When asked if they are expanding their products to other garments or apparel, Ramya shared, “At the moment, we are focusing on sarees, but shortly, we will be creating an opportunity to produce Pattu Langas, Kurtis, Chunis, pocket squares for men, etc. When it comes to Pattu Langas, we create customised Pattu Langas for clients. We weave the sarees that are switched into Langa Voni, or half sarees. By two to five years down the line, we want to get into all sorts of garments.”
She further spoke of how WE Hub aided them in the journey, and she said, “We connected to WE Hub last year in December. WE Hub has aided us in connecting with a lot of weavers across Telangana State. They also helped us arrange partners and hosts to collaborate. They ensured that we got the most out of the revenue. We have had their mentorship for three months. Currently, one month is left. We are hoping to connect with retailers or wholesalers to host our sarees. Moreover, we need to open our own clothing store. Currently, we have our own home studio where we produce beautiful and creative silk sarees for our clients and customers.”
To grab the attention of youth, the founders of Kalaneca launched a sister brand called ‘Etram’ in August 2023. Etram comes from the word Arangetram, which means everything is connected to the arts. Kalaneca purely focuses on natural silk fabrics, but Etram focuses on fancy or designer sarees, Dola sarees, and many more. “Another way to attract youth to Kalaneca is ‘Style with Kalaneca’ where we have styling pieces and create awareness about the beauty of natural silk sarees among them. These sarees are handmade without the use of electricity,” Ramya shares on the concluding note.
