Pochampally Handloom House

What distinguishes one exclusive Pochampally retailer from another? Just the exhaustiveness of range. You will not find these stores indulging in a lot of window dressing or in-store displays. No marble flooring and air-conditioning either. But when it comes to range, they are the massive hands-down winners. Since their only advantage is scale and scope, stores like these are the last name when it comes to one kind of wares.

Another one of the handful of exclusive retailers of Pochampally in Hyderabad, this store, whose façade bears a strong resemblance to an ordinary residence, stocks its 2,000 sq. ft. showroom with ceiling-high piles of dress material, saris, table cloths, cushion covers, divan sets, furnishing cloth, Kalamkari bed covers, Kalamkari dhurries etc. Covering the floor is a white mattress on which you sit, point out at promising looking garments, and evaluate after the shop girls get them down for you.

Pochampally Silk has been patented by Indian government, making it a very fast moving style in Western countries. This store exports 50% of the garments it manufactures in its 50 loom set-up in the town of Pochampally.

The prices of the cotton saris here range from Rs. 100 to Rs. 500 while silks range from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 10,000. A gray gala border single ikkat, pure silk sari has the typical sober Pochampally look and can be bought for Rs. 2,200. Double ikkat is more costly. I saw a striking black one with geometric ivory patterns and a maroon border for Rs. 5,000. You can also order new designs or specify changes to current ones by paying a 50% advance. No extra charge, and it is ready in 10-15 days. Handy for designers who wish to work with Pochampally.

The high end of the range are tissue saris with double ikkat for Rs. 7,000. Check out the ikkat funda on the Pochampally Silks And Sarees website.

For Rs. 70, are 20-30 designs of cushion covers to choose from. Here is where you can get lucky. If you spend a little time picking, you can select some unconventional designs like a pink cover with biscuit borders, and a bold navy blue one with light green and white stripes and a red border. These designs, probably put together using a mix-n-match algorithm by the weavers, can throw pleasant surprises sometimes by pure chance. In which case you can furnish your home with well-designed silk for quite little.

Then there are the bags with doby borders. The designs are a little hackneyed due to overuse, at least in Hyderabad. But they are inexpensive and useful for small jobs.

A must-visit store if Pochampally is on your agenda.