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A traditional Indian fabric is deeply imbued in its cultural heritage. The myriad varieties are representative of India’s ancient fine art of cloth making, which has been enriched by cultural diversity and ethno-religious influences in the region over time. Persian influence in particular added new design and colour vocabulary to the traditional style.
India is home to cotton. The art of cloth making is known here for many thousands of years. Fragments of woven cotton found at Mohenjodaro and Harappa sites date back to eighth century BC. In 327 BC, Alexander the Great mentioned “beautiful printed cottons” in India. Innumerable fragments of block-printed, dyed-cloth discovered in the tombs at Fostat in Egypt are found to be of Indian origin. A variety of fabrics, including cotton brocade, is mentioned in Chinese literature as Indian products were exported to China. References to spinning and weaving are found in the Vedic literature, Graeco-Roman sources of Indian history and Tamil Sangam literature.
Before the introduction of mechanized means of spinning, weaving, dyeing and printing in the 19th century, all Indian cottons and silks were hand-spun, home-dyed or printed. Cloth making was integral to its culture. Mechanized mass production usurped this 5000-year-old fine art of cloth making. But, this was only to be an interregnum. Such was the charm and pull of the traditional fabrics over people that these practices were re-established, in some cases by their private patrons or entrepreneurs. Today, the traditional Indian art of cloth making has re-established its popularity. Indian weaver artisans are still engaged in the making of the finest silks and cottons, both in fabric material and saris—the most loved and popular of all. In fact, the beauty and grace of an assortment of Indian handlooms were never better appreciated.
Each region of the county has some specialized style of weaving, needlework, printing or dyeing. The variety is extremely varied. No wonder then it is the delight of designers, interior decorators and connoisseurs of fine clothing. If Kashmir and Benaras are known for their exquisite weaving, Rajasthan and Gujarat are known for the dyeing and printing techniques that are just sublime; peninsular India has brought the best of cottons and silk in look, design and feel; delicate designs in soft hues woven in the shades of white are characteristic of Bengal. Traditionally, the finest art of cloth making was engaged for the garb of well-healed, but today this work has also ramified in creating breathtaking home furnishings and other custom goods.
Weaving
Banarasi Silk: Patronized by the aristocracy, for ages Banaras is known for its gold and silver brocades, locally known as kimkhwab, and fine silks. Banarsi work is immediately recognizable by the exquisite quality of silk, weaving finesse and delicate motifs. Originally gold or silver thread was used for the brocade work that is now replaced by synthetic gilt fibre to reduce costs.
Banaras is also famous for its silk brocades called Amru silk brocades. Amru saris have delicate motifs in the body enclosed by a border and a heavy pallu of flowering bushes or kalga, the flowing mango pattern.
Silk brocade weaving is done with gold, silver and silk threads. The weaving is done with two-warp1 system: one assists in the pattern formation, the other creates the structure of the cloth. Apart from the gold zari, many colours—all in twistless silk (patbana)— are used in the weft2.
Bengal’s Jamdani and Balochari: The Jamdani or figured muslin, which is described as “woven air”, is one of the most highly prized products of traditional Indian textiles. Jamdani is a Persian word which is synonymous with ornamental muslin fabric of the Gangetic plain. This art had flourished under the patronage of Mughal reign. In the Jamdani technique, patterns are worked in white on a white background, the extra weft threads that create the pattern being of the same fineness as those used in the fabric. The design is produced by placing an extra weft in the same count as the warp and weft to obtain an embossed effect.
Balochari: It was in 1704 that the first Baluchar weaving took place. The body of the sari has small flowers or butis woven all across and enclosed by a flowing brocade border. In this work, untwisted pure mulberry silk thread is used for making the brocade as well as fabric. Silver or golden coloured brocade on deep-coloured lustrous silk weave magic with delicate motifs of animals, vegetation or figurative patterns drawn from the epics of Ramayana or Mahabharat.
Gujarat’s Patola: Patola or double ikat from Patan in Gujarat is the culmination of the most intricate of design, dyeing and weaving techniques. The product is also unique in its qualities, gorgeous colours, designs and durability. The dyeing and weaving technique is such that the cloth bears equal intensity of colour and design on both sides. This singular quality comes from a very intricate and difficult technique of ‘knot dyeing’ known as “bandhani” on the wrap and weft separately before weaving.
Warp and weft silk threads are tied separately with cotton thread on the portions marked out in conformity with the design. This tied portion remains unexposed to the colour while dyeing. Tying, untying, retying and dyeing in different shades are the main features of this process. After completion of dyeing work of warps and wefts, the threads of the warp of different repeats of a pattern are put together in a sequence on the loom, so that the design becomes visible. The threads of wefts are wound on bobbins and kept in the bamboo shuttle for weaving.
It takes three to four months to prepare tie-dyed design on warp and weft threads for one sari of 6 yards length by 48" width. Two weavers working together weave just about eight to nine inches a day. It takes 40 to 50 days to weave a sari. Thus, four to five persons take up to five to six months to complete a sari depending on the intricacy of weaving.
Maharastra’s Paithani: The art of weaving Paithani saris is 2000 years old. The yarn used is pure silk and the zari or gold threads are drawn from pure gold. A heavily brocaded Paithani sari takes six to eighteen months to weave. The Paithani derives its name from Paithan, a quiet religious place on the northern banks of the river Godavari in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, where this exquisite work of handloom is produced for over 2000 years. It is essentially a silk sari with an ornamented zari pallav and border. The motifs used are mostly traditional vines and flowers, shapes of fruits and stylized forms of birds. The sari is often known by the motif that dominates its border or pallav.
A special feature of Paithani is that no mechanical means like the jacquard or jala is used to produce the designs. The progress of weaving is slow, sometimes not more than half an inch in a 12-hour working day. It takes at least a-month-and-a-half to weave the simplest of Paithani and from five to nine months to make the more elaborate (brocade) one. Cotton Paithanis are also likely to make a comeback.
Madhya Pradesh’s Chanderi Silk and Cotton: Chanderi is famous for its brocades and muslins, especially for its handwoven Chanderi saris. Here, master weavers use silk and cotton to create dazzling weaves, distinguished by beautiful borders. Usually in subtle hues, the Chanderi sari has a sophistication that is hard to match. In silk zari saris, the influence of the Banarasi style is visible. They generally have a rich gold border and two gold bands on the pallav. The more exclusive ones have gold checks with lotus motifs all over.
Chanderi silk, which is half silk half cotton, is produced by twisting yarns and then knitting or weaving them into fabrics. The craftsmen do most of the work by hand. Japanese or Korean silk is used in the warp, and the weft is usually of cotton thread. Madhya Pradesh is also known for its delicate Maheshwari saris.
Tamil Nadu’s Kanjeevarm Silk: The famous silks of Kanchipuram emerged out of the temple tradition and still remain untouched by fashion fads. Because of its association with religious rituals, silk was often woven around religious centres. Saris are made with traditional designs and motifs drawn from the sculptures and frescoes of the temples; and often named after the temple from which its design is taken. Brilliant reds, saffron, orange, emerald, henna green, maroon, peacock blue and ochre are the traditional colours used in contrasting rich gold borders.
The technique of weaving double warp borders in solid colours is used. The patterning is part of the woven fabric and not an extra weft. The borders are attached to the main body of the sari through a special interlocking method. If the underside of the cloth is examined, the weft thread can be seen going across to the main body intermittently. Kanjeevarm is the heaviest silk available. It’s unique in its fall and deep lustre.
Andhra Pradesh’s Gadhwal: A specialty of Andhra Pradesh, Gadwal saris are made in cotton in a style influenced by the Banarsi weavers. While the ground of the sari is cotton, there is a loosely attached silk border. Copper or gold dipped zari is generally used in these saris. The common motifs are peacock, swan, lions, eagle, floral patterns and rudraksh. Traditional colours for these saris are earth shades of browns, greys and off-whites.
Assam’s Muga Silk: The rarest of silks, Muga silk is unique to Assam. It makes Assamese women’s traditional wedding finery look ravishing with traditional brocades of red silk depicting animal, floral or bird motifs.
Kashmir’s Jamavar Shawls: The finest shawls in the world are perhaps woven in Kashmir. The shawls are called Jamavar, from jama, a robe, and war, yardage. Old Jamawar shawls had the design either exquisitely woven or embroidered, or sometimes both. In either case, the texture was the same and the difference could only be seen on its reverse. Jamavar shawls epitomize the beauty and colour of the valley with its shimmering lakes, brilliant flowers and birds, and much of its flora and fauna. The shawls have a pattern identical on both sides. In some shawls there are two-sided weaves, usually of the same design but sometimes in different colour schemes known as Do-rookha.
Jamavar weaving is laborious and time consuming as numerous kanis or shuttles carrying rich coloured threads are moved around even in a single weft line because of the continuous change of colours which can be as many as 50 in a single piece. Even Emperor Akbar, who had quite a few of these shawls, considered them to be his prized possessions. Jamavar weaving now has become a rare craft because of the intricacy of the work and the high costs involved. Nonetheless, Kashmir shawls are the Indian subcontinent’s most unique achievement.
Bandhani
Bandhani (tie-n-dye) of Rajasthan and Gujarat has defied all textile developments and fashion trends. Its demand, like its charm, is timeless. The art lives on many thousands of years after it was first practiced, and perhaps with much greater vigour. In a traditional bandhani garb, the colours used are drawn from nature’s bounty: indigo plant, saffron, Indian madder root, henna, marigold, pomegranate rind, turmeric, and leaves and flowers of fruits, and flowers; each colour with certain coded cultural, religious significance.
Hand-spun cloth makes a good bandhani piece for its good absorption of colour. The cloth is first de-gummed and bleached. It is then folded in a particular style. The design is drawn, and portions not to be dyed are tied. The process may be repeated for the number of colour schemes in the design. The important centres of tie-n-dye fabrics in Gujarat are Jamnagar and Ahmedabad. The finest bandhani work in Rajasthan comes from Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Barmer, Pali, Udaipur and Nathdwara. Muslim Khatris, who had migrated to Kutch from Sind and spread over the northern plains, are major practitioners of this art. The Patan Patola is the ultimate in this art of dyeing.
Block Prints
Block-printing like bandhani never lost its popular appeal. They have unique aesthetic value. They are simple, artistic and very vibrant. Traditionally, herbal dyes were used, but dyers now experiment with synthetic dyes, too. Jaipur, Sanganer, Bagru and Barmer in Rajasthan, and Ahmedabad, Pethapur and Farukhabad in Gujarat excel in hand block-printing on textile.
The traditional motifs and designs are floral patterns, human and animal figures. Sanganer is famous for the finest block-printed cottons. Bagru prints are popular for their floral designs, while prints from Barmer are known for their bold geometric patterns, called Ajrakh, in darker shades of blues and reds. Farukhabad is famous for artistry and intricacy of the design.
The main tools of the printer are the carved wooden blocks called bunta. The printing process may require many of such wooden blocks for design outline and colouring. A point on the block serves as a guide for the repeat impression. The outline printer is a real expert, for on him depends the clarity of printing. In a multiple colour design, a number of blocks and printers may be required. A great deal of dexterity is needed for good printing since the colours need to dovetail into the design.
Conclusion
Apart from the only one of its kind handloom, hand-dyed and printed cloth, India is also home to a variety of needle work. Zari and resham zardozi of Kashmir, chikankari of Lucknow, mirror work of Rajasthan and Gujarat, Phulkari of Punjab… the diversity is certain to delight. These also look as great in home furnishing as they do in clothing. As one goes through this Indian melange of textiles, it fires one’s imagination of a scintillating world of glitz and colour.
Footnotes:
1. Yarn arranged lengthwise on a loom.
2. The horizontal threads interlaced through the warp in a woven fabric.
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