With National Handloom Day round the corner (August 7), learn more about India’s traditional weaves and textiles.
India has always been famous for its textiles right from ancient times. The wealthy nobles of the Roman Empire imported fine muslin from India for their togas. Legend has it that the Indian muslin was so fine that it could pass through a ring. With technology coming into the textile sector, many traditional weaves began to decline. However, with the designers and governments working to revive the handloom sector, there has been a change in how handlooms are now viewed. With National Handloom Day falling on August 7, here are seven traditional and famous textiles from across India. Read on to know more about them and solve the shuffle puzzle to know what they look like.
Baluchari: GI Tag: 2011
The name comes from the village of Baluchar in Murshidabad district of West Bengal where the textile originated. The process involves extracting the filaments from silkworm cocoons, processing the yarn, creating the motifs and then the actual weaving. Just the weaving alone takes around a week.
These saris are famous for depicting mythological scenes, folk stories, historical events, scenes from Nature and more. The pallu is a long one and the designs are woven in rectangular boxes so that there are no breaks.
Kota Doria: GI Tag: 2005
This light gossamer-thin fabric is handwoven on traditional pit looms near the city of Kota in Rajasthan. Made of a mix of pure cotton and silk, the fabric is adorned with square patterns called khat. Sometimes the use of zari gives it a shimmery look. In some cases, small dots or buttis were also woven into the fabric.
Today, larger designs are also woven. An elaborate and ornate sari can take upto one month to weave. Since the weave is extremely fine, the fabric is light and is perfect for the summer. Today, apart from saris, the fabric is used to make other kinds of dresses as well.
Banarasi Brocade: GI Tag: 2009
This sumptuous and rich fabric is made of mulberry silk and decorated with intricate designs made of zari. As the name indicates, it is made in Banaras (Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh). The motifs are largely floral. Sometimes gold or meenakari work is also used for decoration as is a metallic effect to give the fabric a shimmery look.
Today, apart from saris, the brocade is used in upholstery and home décor for a luxurious effect.
Kandhangi: GI Tag: 2019
The Kandangi sari has a body with checks or stripes and two borders in contrasting colours, which carried the temple motif. The Kandangi was introduced by the Nagarathar Chettiar community in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, and was initially woven in silk. Cotton was introduced later to offer comfort in the hot summers. Traditionally, earth colours such as mustard, red, brown and black were used. Since the cotton was used was thick and coarse, the material was often repurposed as cradles and crib liners for babies.
The traditional Kandangi is smaller than the regular sari and this was meant to allow the wearers to display their anklets. These saris are durable and easy to maintain as they do not need to be starched or iron. When the Nagarathar community migrated to Singapore and Malaysia, this cotton went with them and became popular in those countries as well.
Bomkai: GI tag: 2009
Originating from the village of Bomkai in Odisha’s Ganjam district, this handwoven textile was originally made from cotton yarn. Today, mulberry silk and tussar silk are also used.
The border, which is usually of a contrasting colour, is decorated with floral and geometrical patterns and motifs drawn from Nature such as the bitter gourd, fish, tortoise, peacock and flowers found in the region. Sometimes, a lattice-worked pattern of small diamond shapes is also used on the borders.
Gadwal: GI Tag: 1999
Made in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana, the Gadwal sari goes back to around 200 years. Promoted by a local queen to help weavers who had settled in this region, this sari has a body made of cotton while the pallu and the border are made of silk.
Its unique feature is the interlocking of the two. A single sari has two joints: one where the body is interlocked with the border and the second where the body is joined to the pallu. The border and pallu also feature intricate zari work with motifs being drawn from Nature.
Ilkal: GI Tag: 2007
Weaving in Ilkal, a town in Bagalkot district of Karnataka, goes back to the eight century CE. The Ilkal sari is of two types: one is a mix of cotton and silk and the other a pure silk version. The traditional colours of the Ilkal weave are pomegranate red, peacock green and parrot green. One variety of the sari, which was used for weddings, was in a colour called girikumkum. This was the shade of sindoor used by the women from priestly families.
The body, border and pallu are prepared separately and then joined using a unique technique of loops peculiar to the region called Tope Teni. Usually, the pallu and border will be of one colour while the body will be of a contrasting colour with either a checked or striped pattern.
