For Citation details – see Gajjala, R. (2012). Cyberculture and the Subaltern: Weavings of the Virtual and Real. Lexington Press. http://www.amazon.com/Cyberculture-Subaltern-Weavings- Virtual- Real/dp/0739118536/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428096012&sr= 8-1&keywords=cyberculture+and+the+subaltern CHAPTER FOUR FRAMING THE LOOM: AN INDIAN CONTEXT 1 Radhika Gajjala, Seemanthini Niranjana 1 and B. Syamasundari In this chapter, we focus broadly on the mutual shaping of culture and technolo- gy in the context of a particular case in the history of the handloom industry of India through an examination of ruptures made visible in economic practices of consumption, production and marketing. We reflect on the questions raised, not so much from an intervention angle but from positioning what are referred to as “traditional knowledges” in contemporary times while problematizing the very conceptual categories of “traditional” and “modern.” We also implicitly and explicitly work against modern-day “received views” about technology (Slack and Wise, 2005, 2); we examine the loom as technology, embedded in everyday life where the interplay between economics and culture is inseparable. Thus, we 1 This is a chapter (draft of published version) from the book “Cyberculture and the Subal- tern” – please check the book for actual citing details or contact the corresponding author at radhik@bgsu.edu