Latest news with #Maasi

New Indian Express

Rising cost roasts thopparai makers who help cool Alagar

VIRUDHUNAGAR: For over a century, Scheduled Caste residents of Kamarajar Colony in Kariapatti have set aside regular jobs for three months, ahead of the Chithirai festival in Madurai to craft Thopparais (water bags made of goat hides) that would be used by devotees to spray water as a votive offering when Lord Kallalagar enters the Vaigai river. However, rising water costs and shrinking profits are now pushing these artisans, who have followed the tradition for over five generations, into mounting financial crisis. The settlement is home to around 150 families and most of whom are daily wage labourers. Starting from Tamil month Thai/Maasi, every family invests all its time to craft Thopparais and sell them around the Meenakshi temple during the festival. Though the people cannot recall exactly when this tradition started, many say their ancestors used to pour water to cool Lord Kallalagar , and it eventually led to crafting water bags using goat hides. S Kannan (38) told TNIE, 'Earlier, we handled the entire process ourselves, from buying sheep hides from Dindigul to cleaning, soaking, liming, preserving, ironing, and stitching the hide. We have to spend Rs 250 to make one bag. Most of these processes require a huge volume of water, which we used to source from local water bodies like kanmois. But with the growing water scarcity in our region, we are buying water, which isn't sustainable anymore as one barrel costs Rs 150. We need at least 10 barrels to process the hide.' As a result, most families are now sending hide to leather firms in Dindigul for processing which costs around Rs 520.