The Hindu : Karnataka News : Mysore Silk will soon be a trademark

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 11, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Mysore Silk will soon be a trademark

By Our Staff Correspondent

The exquisite Mysore Silk saris with zari work.

MYSORE, FEB. 10. The manufacture and sale of "Mysore Silk" saris will no longer be possible for private silk weavers and showrooms if the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC) gets the Geographic Indication Registry (GIR) notifying the brand.

February 20 is the last date for filing objections to the corporation's application claiming "Mysore Silks" as its brand. So far no objections have been received by the Ministry of Industries. The KSIC is the only silk weaving unit in the country that still uses zari (gold thread) in silk saris.

This move will prevent thousands of gullible customers, especially tourists, from buying "Mysore Silk saris" from many showrooms. The manufacture of Pochampalli saris in Andhra Pradesh has been restricted under the GIR, and authorities in Tamil Nadu have approached the GIR to register Kancheepuram saris.

Under the GIR regime, anyone interested in selling Mysore Silk saris will have to obtain permission from the KSIC and pay royalty for such sales.

P. Vijayan, Managing Director of the KSIC, told The Hindu that every sari produced at the Mysore Silk Factory has an embroidered code number and a hologram, and that it is especially true with regard to the zari sari.

Any customer using the code and hologram can trace the history of the sari. The silk yarn and zari used in saris are tested from time to time for their quality by appropriate agencies, he added.

What separates Mysore Silk saris produced by the KSIC from others is the quality of fabric, and the thickness of the silk yarn. While most silk saris are produced using 20:22 silk yarn, KSIC uses 26:28 silk yarn that lends toughness to the fabric.

Mr. Vijayan said: "The GIR is being sought to prevent cheating of customers. Saris worth Rs. 1,000 are sold for Rs. 3,000." He said the KSIC has terminated its association with 75 shops in the State. He said sales at the 11 KSIC outlets in Mysore, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad have gone up after the termination of the contracts.

Mr. Vijayan said the KSIC proposes to sell saris online and that it will be launched in two to three weeks as the payment gateway and shopping cart are getting ready.

About corporate orders, he said Mysore Silk saris are in good demand in the corporate sector, and the KSIC has bagged orders for supplying saris to companies such as Infosys Technologies Ltd., HSBC, Le Meridien and The Oberoi. Demand from banks and public sector undertakings is also good, he said.

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