How silk is made

Oh, the palaces I have seen! The temples! The puja ceremonies! But the highlight of the day for me was visiting the village of Ramanagara and seeing inside a silk factory. Here’s what happens. Eggs are farmed and sold to middlemen on sheets of paper, like drugs. The eggs turn into larvae, which are fed on mulberry leaves. They then turn into pupae with a cocoon around them. The pupae are then graded and sold at government auctions in large market halls.

The buyers take them to the factories, where the cocoons are dumped into boiling water to kill the pupae ( horrid) and fished out in a plastic colander. They are then passed to workers, mostly female, who tease out the fine threads and attach them onto mechanised spools, as above, to produce yards of the finest silk. The dead pupae and shells are sold on as waste.

From the factories the silk threads are sold on to dyers and weavers, and I guess from there they are sold on to garment makers. What we saw was just one or two links in the chain: thr cocoon market, and the factory above. Nothing grand, no factory shop. Just poverty in the village, basic conditions in the factory, and skilled workers. The real deal.

These visits were just ‘extras’ on our crowded itinerary. We also saw: the legislative assembly of Karnataka, Vidhana Soudha, a cracking palace in the Neo-Dravidian style, built 1952-56, after colonial rule ended; the remains of Tipu Sultan’s summer palace ‘made of teak wood in thr Anglo-Islamic style; the Nandi ‘big bull temple where we were blessed (the bull is Lord Shiva’’s transport, so it’s not unusual to see large statues of bulls in India); the island of Srirangapatna with its temple inside a fortified town ; and an art gallery inside a former palace. Only after all of this, and many tales of Tipu Sultan and his eventual death, were we allowed to go to our hotel in Mysore. (Tipu Sultan was either the enemy of the British, a folk hero to some Muslims or a bit of a troublemaker to some Hindus. It’s all in the telling. Our guide is even-handed).

Our hotel is distinctly palatial . I have a touch of impostor syndrome, and expect to be thrown out any moment. On the other hand, as I am sharing a room this trip with my mate, it’s great to have space, and luxury, We’ve met up with some interesting tour companions too, this evening.

I do hope to share some more pictures in Extras soon, but I must go to sleep now, for we have an early start tomorrow. I’m loving (almost) every moment!