Andhra Pradesh is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the country's south eastern coast. It 

is India's fourth-largest state by area and fifth-largest by population. The state comprises three 

regions: Telangana, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the important States in the Handloom Industry. There are about 2,00,310 

handloom weavers in cooperative fold and 1,58,902 in outside cooperative fold. There are about 81,000 

Power looms working in the State both in cooperative and outside cooperative fold.

VENKATAGIRI - A PLACE OF HANDLOOMS THAT ALLURES

Venkatagiri is a small village in Nellore district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Venkatagiri's old 

name is "Kali Mili Gobburi Jaggaraju was the king who was ruling Venkatagiri kingdom in the name 

of "Kalimili". He was the father-in-law of the Chandragiri king Venkatapathiraju. He was defeated by 

Sri Krishnadevaraya's representative and Velugodu ruler Venkatadrinaidu .He renamed Kalimili with 

Vaishanava name "Venkatagiri" and ruled the land. Venkatagiri kingdom was established in Nalgonda Dist. 

in Amanagallu village around 1120AD.

POPULATION

 The village has a population of around 50,000. 

The main castes which are involved in the handloom industry are Padmasali, Devanga, Pattusali and 

Karnasali which accounts to 30% of the population. Venkatagiri has got its own unique weaving excellence 

and one can specify and get a designer saree for a price. In fact in the earlier days these weavers used to 

weave very few sarees for the Kings, and the remuneration they got from them was very much sufficient for 

whole of the year. Two major communities Padmasali and Devanga are engaged in weaving profession in 

the area in Manulalapet and Bangarupet. Devanga community weavers are in this profession from 1600 AD 

onwards; all are migrated here from Kadapa district in 1600 AD. Venkatagiri is famous for "Jamdani" design 

which was imported from Bangladesh. Four Venkatagiri weavers won President’s Award for weaving this 

design. The weavers in Venkatagiri mainly produce sarees of Cotton, Cotton and Silk mix and pure Silk.

Culture and notable attractions

• "Poleramma Jatara" is celebrated with grandeur. Poleramma is the village goddess and this festival is 

conducted in her honour.

• There is a famous Lord Shiva temple Kolithota from Venkatagiri around 8 km through "AMUDURU" 

village and just before the forest.

• Venkatagiri Durgam, a rock fort about 8 miles West of Venkatagiri Town was a defensive arrangement 

made by Rajah of Venkatagiri. The Venkatagiri Durgam trail is still untouched other than by the locals and 

a few adventure groups and is not yet a regular destination for the trekkers. The trekking path is covered 

with small to medium sized pebbles, and you pass through thick thorny bushes, beautiful mountains, 

steep rocky mountains and waterfalls.

• Venkatagiri Fort built in 1775AD attracts visitors from all over the district. Front portion of the fort 

namely "Indra Mahal" was built in 1883AD.

HISTORY

Photo Courtesy: www.1nellore.com

Venkatagiri saris have history dating back to early 1700. They were patronized by the Velugoti 

dynasty of Nellore. The weavers back then used to weave these sarees only for the royal families. 

In return, they used to get paid such handsome amounts that it would last them a year or so till the 

next order was placed. More recently, the Venkatagiri Sarees got widespread publicity by importing 

the Jamdani design from Bangaldesh. In the times of the kings and the queens in the early part of 

1700, the Venkatagiri Sarees used to be made only on order and that too just for the royal families. 

The weavers used to make exclusive designs for the royal families and get paid hefty sums of money. 

However, in more recent time it is the Jamdani design technique from Bangladesh that made these 

sarees household names. The weavers who brought this unique technique to India have also been 

awarded by the President of India.

VENKATGIRI SAREES

Photo Courtesy: www.apcofabrics.com

Coming from the historic town of Venkatagiri in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Venkatagiri Sarees are 

one of the softest and most durable sarees found in India. Known for their unique and exclusive Zari 

designs, Venkatagiri Sarees are sure to make you stand out in the crowd at any given point of time. 

Even today one can get an exclusive design customized just for themselves if they choose to opt for 

a Venkatagiri Saree. And the fact that they were patronized by Nellore’s Velugoti Dynasty only adds 

to their heritage value.

Varieties

There are different varieties of Venkatagiri Sarees available in the market such as:

Venkatagiri 100: It is the lightest variety amongst all Venkatagiri Sarees and hence is very popular as 

it can be worn at any time of the year.

Venkatagiri Pattu: These are the thread woven sarees where the body of the saree is arranged with a 

Zari border and usually comprises of floral designer motifs in the center.

Venkatagiri Silk: These are the fine silk sarees which are generally designed by using the Jamdani 

technique of Bangladesh.