The story is poignant and a relatively rare look in to the lives of the working poor in the developing world. The sometimes more graphic stories of children taken into slavery for the rug weaving trade provide an uglier side of industries in survival economies.

On one hand, this is just another story about the effects of globalization and modernization of a traditional livelihood. But it's a good reminder, and a touching piece.

A rich account which ties in history, religion, politics, sociology, pitfalls of economic globalization--a good look at a complex situation. The reporter met with these people personally--it completely comes through the piece. The writing is also quite good; it has a clear, narrative quality, where the reporter describes details about people and setting that lend an emotional undercurrent to the entire piece. As it's a story with a human toll, this is appropriate. When the CSM (or any other publication that looks microscopically at the human condition worldwide) writes such pieces, my world expands as I read them. One value of these articles is that they open a window onto a hidden problem. These weavers have become so ... More »

It's a good, well balanced story about what undoubtedly is happening all over India and every other 'developing' country. And it points up possible mitigations which neither the weavers nor the government are undertaking. But go back to 'developing' Europe when power looms forced spinsters and weavers out of their cottages into sweatshops, or to New England when whale oil was replaced by petroleum - or when electronics was replaced by big computers and then big computers were replaced by desktops and then.... In every industrializing turn the current generation of workers suffers. If they are lucky they have trade union or government help; if they are not you have Varanasi. But this generation's children go on to do whatever is ... More »

The story is well written from one point of view. What about the consumers who buy saris? they have not been sourced. what are the problems faced while buying such saris? Does the INdian Govt. have some agency to tackle problems of such wevaers? Also, they are weavers in the South: the Kanjeevaram silk saris. are there any hand-made saris in the south of india? i would have liked to know about this.