045. Siddipet Gollabama

Siddipet Gollabama pertains to sarees that are hand woven, having the unique motif of a Gollabama from Siddipet District, Telangana. A "Gollabama" is a figure of a milk maid carrying a milk pot over her head and one in her hand. Legendary tales of King Vikramaditya talk of “Gollabama” as the name of a Queen. Due to some unknown reason, the King and Queen got separated and the plight of the queen was reduced to that of a milkmaid selling milk.

Motif of Gollabama is an essential element, woven compulsorily in the pallu of all Siddipet Gollabama Sarees. The body of the saree is plain or has buttas. These sarees are made from pure cotton yarn or from mercerized cotton. There is no usage of zari. 

Siddipet Gollabama weavers have now started moving into the weaving of towels, lungis, bed sheets and shirt materials. For these products the main requisite is the presence of the Gollabama motifs on the material.

Small instruments called Sanchas are used to weave the motifs on the material. The Gollabama designs woven in the pallu and body are between 9 – 10 centimeters in height and about 5 centimeters in width. This measurement is standard and does not vary. 

Another important feature is that weaving of the Gollabama motifs into the sarees is not done on the loom but purely by hand. In the pallu, a ‘line design’ is woven throughout the width of the saree, above and below the line of Gollabama motifs. These lines are woven to enhance the look of the sarees and there is no said pattern for these lines. 

All colours are used in weaving the body of the saree. But the most popular colours used for the body of the saree are Cream and white. Colours used most widely for the pallu are yellow, maroon, green and all bright colours. The colours used most frequently for weaving the Gollabama motifs by hand are blue, green, black red & violet in various shades and depend entirely on the weavers’ creativity. 

GI Tag Registration Date         : 19 March 2012

GI Tag Number                         : 188

Certificate Number                  : 170

Geographical Area                  : Telangana

Special Cover Release Date   : 07 August 2021

Cancellation                             : Raj Bhavan PO 500 041

Type                                          : GI Tag Special Cover

Cover Identification Number  : TS/15/2021

Enlarged View of Illustration depicting Gollabama motif on the Saree

Enlarged View of Cancellation

Cancellation depicts Gollabama Motif