Synthesis

The phrase “vera ena velai theriyum” (what other jobs we know) is very significant to their social group, it explains everything about them. The most significant sound closely associated with them is the “Chuckk” sound, the sound of binding the korai threads every time a new one is added to the mat. The mat weaver’s hall (thari koodam) is where famous pattamadai mats are designed and weaved. The orders are taken here directly by society or mats sold to the shopkeepers nearby. People who don’t own equipment to weave at home come here to weave and earn daily wages. This hall provides the necessary equipment and materials for people to come and weave mats. As this is not full-time employment, all three of them come and leave anytime as they wish, there are no time restrictions, they have to finish the day’s job and get paid respectively. People work only when they find time between household works, cooking and taking care of children.All of them have learned to weave mats right from childhood, they are directly taught by their parents and grandparents, as they are into mat weaving services for many generations. They have also taught their children from a very young age to weave mats.Mat weaving was once the work of men, recently it has shifted and only women are involved in traditional mat weaving services. And all the women belong to the Muslim community only not any other religion. Men don’t come to the weaving hall for work and it is only women who manage and work here. Men work at society on the first floor machines to produce mats and designs because they don’t know how to make designs or work on thari.Pattamadai is the only place where designs are made on the mats in multi-colours. Though all of them weave mats here, only a few are skilled in making designs on the mats. Rahmath and seithoon are paid more because of designs and given more importance, while seiydali is paid less because she can't make designs and never learned to design.All women work here on mats to make enough money to meet the cost of one time meals for their family. They have been socially conditions to not pursue other jobs and do not have education or skills for other jobs. They do this because they are trained only in this by their parents and have this skill. They all been working as mat weavers since their childhood.Mat weaving job involves a lot of physical pain in the body and hands while making, but these women still do it to make money for one time meals. It gives heart pain to seiyadali and in general to shorter people because of constant bending forward.The local mat weavers or society makes less quality and poorly designed mats for the business people or shopkeepers on purpose. They do this to attract the customers directly to their homes, thari koodams or society office rather selling through shops, it gives more profit and customers directly. Shopkeepers pay less for the orders to the mat weavers and make more money by profit margins.Seithoon wants her kids to not continue with the mat weaving job which she is doing, it is a very difficult job and doesn’t earn enough money, she wants her kid to get a good education and find a less difficult job. She is ready to spend all her earning on her kids' education.Seithoon spends her money on educating her male child. Considering her wealth, she gives more priority to educating her male child than other female siblings. Gender inequality is accepted there. Her main worry about her kid is, he will end up in a picking fight if he goes to the school in the village and to ensure his safety she had enrolled him in Sivandhi matriculation school.All of them play the role of friends here, helping each other o 2794 n their mats and they constantly tease each other for fun and all of them are relatives. Pay is determined by the type of design skills they know, it creates a lot of jealousy towards seithoon. Seithon plays the role of teacher-student to teach design for othersRahmath plays the role of the owner with seithoon and seiyadali only in the absence of her mother. The thari koodam is controlled and managed by Rahmat's mother only. She doesn’t sit and weave mats in the tharikoodam, rather she talks to customers, buys materials, take orders and plans the work. She instructs or guides the women about the design and deadline of work. She stays mostly in society office or goes out for exhibitions. She is the leader of thari koodam, without her nobody knows where or what to work on. The role of the owner shifts from Rahmat to her mother when she instructs the work.