23-Year-Old Takes Grandpa's Sarees From Village to World

When Praveen watched his 84-year-old grandfather Chinnusami spend days weaving a single saree only to sell it for a fraction of its worth, he knew something had to change. The answer came through a smartphone and a simple Instagram page.

In Kakapalayam village near Salem, Tamil Nadu, Chinnusami has been weaving for over six decades. His hands tremble now, but he refuses to give up the craft that became his refuge after two of his three sons went missing years ago.

Like most weavers in the region, Chinnusami depended on middlemen who bought his handmade sarees cheaply and resold them for ten times the price. Fellow weaver Kavesh recalls spending a week making pure silk Kanchipuram sarees and selling them for Rs 1,500, only to later discover they were being sold for Rs 15,000.

In January 2026, Praveen, a 23-year-old chemistry student, cleared out a room in his grandfather's house and launched Thatha's Clothing on Instagram. The page caught on quickly, with customers drawn not just to the sarees but to the story behind them.

Then Praveen noticed something important. His grandfather wasn't alone in this struggle. Across Salem and nearby villages, skilled weavers were creating beautiful sarees but had no way to reach customers directly.

Why This Inspires

What started as one grandson's mission to honor his grandfather has grown into a lifeline for 30 weavers. For the first time, artisans like Muthu can set their own prices instead of accepting whatever middlemen offer.

Nearly half of Thatha's Clothing orders now come from international customers in Canada, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Each purchase goes directly to the weaver who made it, keeping traditional handloom craft alive while giving artisans fair compensation for their skill.

Chinnusamy still sits at his loom every morning despite his family's gentle suggestions to rest. "As long as our limbs are functional and our mind is working, we should be at work," he says. "Age is just a number."

His grandson turned a phone and a painted room into a bridge between generations, connecting village looms to global markets. For weavers who spent decades invisible to the wider world, that connection means everything.

When skill finally meets fair payment, everyone wins.