Soundarya Lahiri : A kaleidoscope of colors
In this article, we present The exquisite beauty of Indian Silk Sarees, the traditional drapery for Indian women. The Saree, with its grace, glamour and beauty is very aptly described in Ancient Indian literature in glowing terms for example, in "Silappadhikaram" , the Tamil epic from Sangam Literature and "Kadambari " by Banabhatta.
The word Saree evolved from the Prakrit word Sattika as mentioned in the earliest Buddhist Jain literature.
The history of Indian clothing trace the Saree even further back to the Indus valley civilization, which flourished in 2800- 1800 BC. The earliest known depiction of the Saree in the Indian subcontinent is the statue of an Indus valley priest wearing a drape, sort of like a saree.
The most common style is for the Saree to be wrapped around the waist with a loose end of the drape worn over the shoulder. A saree can be draped in several different styles.
Traditionally Sarees are woven with one plain end that is concealed inside the wrap , two long decorative borders running the length of the saree, and a one to three foot section at the other end that continues and elaborates on the length wise decoration. This end is called the pallu
In the past sarees were woven in either silk or cotton. The rich could afford finely woven silk sarees that according to folklore could be passed through a finger ring. The poor wore coarsely woven cotton saris. All sarees were handwoven and represented considerable investment in time and money.
Some poets like Sri Sri wrote satires on Rich Indian women wearing Sarees that blew beautifully in the breeze while traditional weavers with hardly a cloth on their back, eked out a living from worn out cottages where they spun the wheels of their loom. With the advent of machine made textiles this poetic description has moved very close to present day reality of these weavers.
Silk has always been a highly revered fabric in India and is considered very auspicious and celemonial wear at all religious rituals and weddings. So a silk saree is something an Indian women is proud to possess. It combines the glamour and shine associated with silk and this combined with the traditional styles and decorations from each region of India, results in a kaleidoscope of color, style and galmour
Tonight we let our "Telugu Vanithas" take you through a tour of traditional silk saris from all over India with beautiful narration in Telugu by Smt Ramani Vishnubhotla.
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India is a land of rich and varied culture and tradition.
The Kaleidoscope of colors, glamour and style that we wish to depict in our presentation of Soundarya Lahiri focuses on the Exquisite colors and textures of Silk Sarees worn by Indian women from all over India. These are worn for all religious and ceremonial occasions.
Kashmir Silk Sarees:
Starting with the Jewel in India’s crown, the Kashmir Valley boosts of the beautiful
Kashmir silk sarees. These are famous for two reasons. First the perfection of hand embroidery work and secondly for the traditional Kashmiri patterns of Embroidery.
These sarees are worn as party wear or for weddings and usually retail at anywhere between $150 and $900 only.
Benaras Silk Sarees:
Benaras is one of the leading silk saree production centers in India. Benaras silk sarees are known for their heavy gold and silver brocade in the sarees. The gold and silver wires are made hair thin by heating the metal and letting it pass through minute holes. These wires of gold and silk are then used with Silk Yarn for weaving.
The tradition of making benarasi sarees is very ancient. Even today one will find thousands of weavers making silk sarees in the sacred city. The training usually begins at a very early age. It is believed that the Benarasi saree gained prominence during the Mughal rule. Persian motifs were fudged with Indian designs on silk to create distinct flowery patterns. Created in eye catching shades and patterns these Sarees usually fall into 4 categories, pure silk ( katan), Organza ( kora) with Zari and silk, georgette and and Shatir. This is weaved on a power loom and it takes three people 15 days to make one benaras silk sari.
Balucheri Sarees :
Silk Weaving of Balucher continues to be an important landmark of Bengal’s handloom tradition.
These Sarees from west Bengal involve a special balucher technique weaving brocades with untwisted silk thread. The pallu of these sarees have pattern that resemble miniature paintings. The intricately carved terracotta temples of Bishnupur provide ample inspiration to the weavers to reproduce whole epics on the pallu of the Sari.
The base colors range from sober beige to resplendent hues and reds with contrast borders on fine mulberry silk.,
Tussar Silk Sarees:
Tussar silks from Bihar are valued for its purity and texture. Available in natural shades of gold, dark, honey, tawny, beige, cream, Tussar sarees are considered very auspicious. Tussar silk is obtained from a special variety of cocoons raised from Arjun and Sal trees.
The sarees come in many colors and are decorated with a variety of natural motifs.
Orissa Silk sarees:
Orissa Sarees have a close relation with the Jagannath culture. Originally , the four basic colors which are found in Jagannath, black, White, red and yellow were extensively used in Oriya Sarees. Even motifs such as a temple border, lotus, conch and wheel signify affinity with the reigning deity.
Chanderi Sarees of Madhya Pradesh:
In the heart of India beyond the forests and Valleys are the famous weavers of the town of Chanderi in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. Once Chanderi cottons were comparable to Dacca Muslin. When the British introduced mill made fabrics to compete with Indian Handlooms, the weavers of Chanderi created the present form of Chanderi saris. They used Silk wrap with fine cotton without compromising on the intricate gold borders and the jewel like buttis. The weave continued to remain as delicate and exquisite as ever. Color was introduced into Chanderi weaving 50 years ago. Till then these were only white saris which were washed in saffron to get the characteristic golden hue and fragrance. Flowers were also used for dyeing these saris into soft pastel shades. Now the sarees are available in a huge range of colors.
Gadwal Sarees from Andhra Pradesh
Gadwal is one of the centers where typical, traditional Andhra saris are made, that are unusually different. The Sari body is cotton while the richly brocaded borders and pallu are in silk. The cotton and silk fabrics are woven separately and then attached together. Rich traditional and elaborate designs adorn the pallu and the border. The mango motif is usually used in the designs. Yellow, parrot- green, pink and beige are the colours used most often.
Venkatagiri Sarees from Andhra Pradesh:
Venkatagiri saris are woven with locally made jalas and are among the best examples of the jacquard weave with graceful strains of gold all over.. The Weaving is with fine threads and the body of the Saree is in sheer cotton ornamented with gold motifs, dots, coins, leaves, parrots,or simple geometric designs. The borders usually have pure silver zari and brocade designs and the sarees are available in pleasant colors.
Pocchampalli Sarees from Andhrapradesh
The Pochampalli textiles are made using the tie and dye technique of yarn. Different coloured yarns are woven into geometrical designs. Dress materials, sarees and home-furnishings are also made in these designs. Pochampalli sarees and dress materials are available in both cotton and silk.
Kanchi Pattu Sarees:
Kanchipuram is a famous weaving center in Tamil nadu. The Salgars ( the weavers, named after Salika , Sanskrit word for weaver) claim descent from Sage Markhanda, who is said to be the weaver of gods. The tradition of Kanchipuram sarees arose from the temple traditions of the Kamakshi temple where the women folk wore only silk saris for festivals and weddings.
Two weavers work on 3 shuttles to make the saree. The Pallu is done separately and the saree is almost always woven with contrast borders.These sarees are regarded as one of the finest Silk Sarees there is. Heavy silk background is dotted with embroidery made of real gold and silver to give it a very rich look. Some of the sarees worn at weddings have real gold woven all over the entire saree. Typical modtifs used for the Saree are the sun, moon, chariots, swans, peacocks, parrots mangoes etc.
These Sarees are usually made in brilliant colors like red, saffron, orange, emerald green maroon, peackock blue with contrasting borders and have been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. Maintenance of kanjivarams or Kanchi Pattus require careful folding and wrapping after use. Machine wash is not recommended. If maintained properly, kanjeevarams can last a hundred years
Last but not the least………………..
Ahimsa Silk: Silk Saree without killing a single silkworm
We have seen many protests worldwide against the use of leather products. However, surprisingly, there hasn’t been much resistance against the use of silk garments, especially considering the fact that thousands of silkworms are killed in order to make a small piece of fabric. Kusuma Rajaiah, of Hyderabad, has come up with an initiative to produce silk without killing silk worms. Not many of us may know this, but the silk Industry produces silk by dropping the cocoons of the silk worm in boiling water when they are ten days old before they metamorphose into moths. This is preferred since if they waited for the cocoon to open naturally the continuity of the fibre is lost. But for one man this has been a crusade. He purchases cocoons from mulberry farms in Chittoor district and rears them in large baskets. He lets the moths emerge out of the pierced cocoon after 10 days and the pierced cocoons are spun into yarn. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi he calls the silk Ahimsa. This silk may lack the luster of regular silk but is wrinkle free and has a better fall according to him.
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