Sualkuchi operates 12,000 handlooms, producing around 3 lakh sq m of silk fabric a year, and remains untouched by the clatter of machines In 1946, when Mahatma Gandhi set foot in Sualkuchi, a picturesque village nestled along the Brahmaputra near Guwahati, he was spellbound by the artistry of the local weavers, particularly the women. Their looms seemed to weave not just silk, but dreams, he felt. His words — “Assamese women weave dreams on their looms”, have lingered like the rustle of silk ever since. Nearly eight decades later, those looms are still humming. Sualkuchi remains one of the rare places in India where handlooms, not machines, dictate the rhythm of daily life.

Defying the industrial revolution While many historic silk weaving centres across India have succumbed to

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