National award winner Gobardhan & Jema Panika talks about his Kotpad weaving. Handed down through generations its origins trace back to the 3rd century. There are only 8 families in the world practicing the traditional tribal craft of Kotpad weaving. The red colour comes from the roots of the aal tree (Indian Madder). Shades of red, maroon and dark brown can be obtained depending on the ageing of the madder and the way the dye is processed (under the sun, in clay pots). Black is developed by adding powdered kumhar-pathar (sulphate of iron; they buy it from blacksmiths). This ancient natural dyeing process of the yarn takes around 12 to 15 days. On an average, it takes 20 days to weave a finished Kotpad sari.  Kotpad weave is done using pit looms, which are at floor level, with a sunken pit where there is a foot-operated pedal. Weaving motifs are geometrical, but also drawn from nature - tortoises, crabs, birds and what not"