17th Century Malabar Frame Loom installed at Kannur Airport

Kannur: Highlighting the rich tradition of handloom industry in Kannur, a model of Malabar Frame Loom was installed at the departure area. The loom was installed by the Indian Institute of Handloom Technology, Kannur (IIHT-K). The loom what is now known as Malabar Frame Loom was introduced in the handloom industry in Kerala by foreign missionaries during 1700-1800. It soon became popular as Malabar Frame Loom and widely used in Kerala, especially in Kannur and Kozhikode for weaving furnishing fabrics, dhotis, saris and shirting. Handloom products from Kannur, which meet international standards, have earned a global reputation. It is also registered under the Geographical Indication (GI) standards. ‘‘It was the wish of the airport company to install a look at the airport to highlight the tradition of the region. The airport company and the KITCO, the design consultants approached us with this demand. This loom is fully made of teakwood. It was fabricated by a team of experts from the IIHT- Kannur and also traditional experts,'' said N. Sreedhanyan, Executive Director of IIHT- K. The team behind the loom installed at the airport include IIHT-K Technical Superintendent Sreenath, Temple Architect M.V. Kuttikrishnan Achari, A.K. Ramakrishnan, Deepesh and Chandran Kommeri. IIHT- Kannur is one of the 10 IIHTs across the country. Minister for Industries E.P. Jayarajan will unveil the loom during the inauguration of the airport on Dec. 9.