The standard occupation of the caste is the weaving of the fine
silk-bordered cloths which are universally worn on the body by Brahmans
and other well-to-do persons of the Maratha country. The cloth is
usually white with borders of red silk. They dye their own thread with
lac or the flowers of the palas tree (Butea frondosa). The price of a
pair of loin-cloths of this kind is Rs. 14, and of a pair of dupattas
or shoulder-cloths Rs. 10, while women's saris also are made. Each
colony of Koshtis in a separate town usually only weave one kind of
cloth of the size for which their looms are made. The silk-bordered
loin-cloths of Umrer and Pauni are well known and are sent all over
India. The export of hand-woven cloth from all towns of the Nagpur
plain has been estimated at Rs. 5 lakhs a year. The rich sometimes
have the cloths made with gold lace borders. The following account
of the caste is given in Sir R. Craddock's Nagpur Settlement Report:
"The Koshti is an inveterate grumbler, and indeed from his point of
view he has a great deal to complain of. On the one hand the price of
raw cotton and the cost of his living have increased very largely;
on the other hand, the product of his loom commands no higher price
than it did before, and he cannot rely on selling it when the market
is slack. He cannot adapt himself to the altered environment and clings
to his loom. He dislikes rough manual labour and alleges, no doubt with
truth, that it deprives him of the delicacy of touch needed in weaving
the finer cloths. If prices rise he is the first to be distressed,
and on relief works he cannot perform the requisite task and has to
be treated with special indulgence. The mills have been established
many years in Nagpur, but very few of the older weavers have sought
employment there. They have begun to send their children, but work
at home themselves, though they really all use machine-spun yarn. The
Koshtis are quarrelsome and addicted to drink, and they have generally
been the chief instigators of grain riots when prices rise. They often
marry several wives and their houses swarm with a proportionate number
of children. But although the poorer members of the community are in
struggling circumstances and are put to great straits when prices of
food rise, those who turn out the fine silk-bordered work are fairly
prosperous in ordinary times."