Bengaluru: The quintessential Mysore Silk saree, the prized possession of many a women, will soon be available at a much lesser price. The sarees which are presently priced at nothing less than `12,000 per piece, will soon be sold at prices starting from `4,000 by the Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC).
The silk sarees, which are known for their soft texture, are made of pure silk blended with gold zari (65% silver, 0.65% gold). The price of a saree increases depending on the type of zari used.
Now, KSIC plans to reduce the zari work on the sarees and sell them for lesser while maintaining the quality of the silk.
Speaking to Express, KSIC chairman M K Somashekar said, “Mysore Silk sarees are known for purity. They are quite expensive and often termed as rich people’s saree. We want to break this image and are now coming up with lesser-priced sarees which will be affordable for most people. “ The sarees, expected to be introduced by March, will cost lesser.
“The quality of these sarees will remain the same. The only difference will be that they will have lesser zari,’’ he said. On how KSIC will produce the sarees at lesser price, Somashekar said all along, they were being weaved at the Mysuru factory.
“The Mysuru unit has permanent employees and their salaries are higher. But KSIC recently started another factory with 30 looms at Chennapatna which has temporary employees drawing lesser salaries. Hence, we will be able to cut down costs,’’ he added.
On an average, 85,000 Mysore Silk sarees are sold annually. “We sell at all our showrooms, online and also at exhibitions. We even have customers who order in bulk — like Air India for their hostesses. Our sarees are priced anywhere between `12,000 and `2.65 lakh. People from other countries also buy from us. These sarees are known to last long and the colour too does not fade,’’ he added. With the affordable silk garment, KSIC hopes to sell more than one lakh sarees annually.
New Indian Express