Visalakshi Ramaswamy and the Resilient Kottan
“Aachi knows all the trending things,” begins Durga Gopalan about Visalakshi Ramaswamy, Chennai’s quiet champion of Chettinad culture and crafts. Take for instance, the Kandanghi sari. Woven with thick and coarse cotton in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, and introduced by the Nagarathars or the Nattukottai Chettiar community to which Ramaswamy belongs, this sari comes with a…