Read: Mangalgiri has long been a weaving centre, with a community hall paid for by the master weavers. Weavers use it to discuss their problems, and the master weavers join them to discuss wages. One good thing about the wages is that men and women are paid the same. Jobs such as spinning or stretching the yarn are done by others and paid separately. But there are no weekly holidays, no pay for overtime or accidents, and no leave or medical benefits. If a weaver falls ill and needs money, the master weaver lends it against future wages. The master weaver, who supplies the yarn and sells the finished cloth, is often called the 'middleman', and observers often say that removing him would raise craftspeople's living standards. Yet for the weavers, this so-called middleman is part and parcel of how cloth gets made. Which phrase shows the middleman in a favourable light?