Here I am going to write about my trip to Coonoor, India, especially my visit to Central Silk Board of Coonoor. I, along with my parents started the journey to Coonoor around 5:30 a.m. on a holiday. I was so excited that we were going. We travelled by car and the road taken was through Nilambur – Gudalur to Ooty and then to Coonoor. Before starting our journey, we researched the places we should see on our visit to Coonoor. Apart from the regular parks and other scenic places, one place interested us. It was the Central Silk Board of Coonoor.
After reaching Coonoor we went to the Central Silk Board of Coonoor where silk is made, to know more about silk and silkworm. We took some time to find the location and to get permission to visit the place. We thought that place would be too crowded, but to our surprise, it was not at all. We were welcomed by the members there.
Thanks to Mr M.S Mohan (The scientist of the Central Silk Board of Coonoor) and Mrs Sharada who helped us to navigate through the knowledge of the production of silk and the life cycle of a silkworm. It took a whole day at central silk board. The members of the Central Silk Board of Coonoor showed us Cocoons of the silkworm, mulberry farm, handicraft items made with cocoon and a video about the life cycle of the silkworm. It was a very interesting video. I learnt a lot of things from there related to silk making, cocoons and silkworms.
Pure silk comes from an insect called silkworm. Its scientific name is Bombyx mori. At the Central Silk Board of Coonoor, the silkworm is grown on mulberry trees and these worms eat a lot of mulberry leaves.
It was a wonderful experience in which we gained the knowledge of silkworm and the weaving of the silk.
HOW IT\’S MADE
When I heard about silkworm, I remembered the lesson my teacher took in history class that Silk was first found in china and they kept the production of silk a secret.
Silk is made by taking the fine thread from the cocoon of the silkworm, also called Bombyx mori. It is first cleaned in boiling water which extracts fine thread from the cocoon. This is processed to make a silk thread, and then it is bleached to remove unfavourable colour and odour. Later, it is dyed to any colour according to the requirement.
THE HISTORY
What I learned from there is that, silk was discovered 8500 years ago by the Chinese empress Leizu. They kept the weaving of silk a secret till Korea founded the way of weaving the silk in 200BC. It is then followed by the ancient kingdom of Khotan in 50AD and was spread to India in 140AD. Silk is very popular and is widely used. It is used to make bulletproof jackets, cosmetics, medicines, clothes etc, and it is used as a biomaterial, that means that it is used in surgeries and other operations. It is also the most luxurious material available to date.