In the most ancient and sacred city
of Varanasi, there thrives an equally ancient
tradition. Thousands of weavers are engaged
in weaving Banarasi saris.
Banarasi Silk Saris
The Banarasi saris gained popularity during
the Mughal era. During this period, all
art was amalgamated to create a fusion of
aesthetics. Persian motifs and Indian designs
on silk studded with gold and silver remained
the cue of Mughal patronage. Today these
saris are being exported worldwide.
There are mainly four varieties of Banarasi
sari available today. They are pure silk
(katan); organza (kora) with zari and silk;
georgette, and shattir. The sari making
is more of a cottage industry for several
million people around Varanasi encompassing
Gorakhpur and Azamgarh as well.
Making The Sari
Most of the silk for the saris comes from
South mainly Bangalore where sericulture
is a unique industry. The weavers weave
the basic texture of the sari on the power
loom. In weaving the warp, they create the
base, which runs into 24 to 26 meters. There
are around 5600 thread wires with 45-inch
width.
At the weaving loom, three people work.
One weaves, the other works at the revolving
ring to create lacchis (rolled bundles).
At this juncture, another important process
is initiated. This is designing the motifs.
There are several traditional artists in
Varanasi who, though not formally trained
in designing, create wonderful designs for
saris. To create naksha patta (design boards)
the artist first draws on graph paper with
color concepts. Traditional designs remain
the base appeal for Varanasi saris. Once
the design in selected then small punch
cards are created. These serve as guides
for which color thread has to pass through
which cards and at what stage. For one design,
one requires hundreds of perforated cards
to implement the concept. The prepared perforated
cards are knitted with different threads
and colors on the loom. Then, according
to the design, they are paddled in a systematic
manner so that the main weaving picks up
the right colors and pattern.
A normal sari takes around 15 days to one
month and sometimes six months to complete.
However, it all depends on the intricacy
of designs and patterns to be created on
the sari.
Weaving Banarasi saris is a functional
art of India, which has been going on for
centuries within a great fabric of Indian
traditional weavers.
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