August 6, 2022
By Shreesha Ghosh
This particular type of saree originated in West Bengal and is known for depictions of mythological scenes through intricate and meticulous motifs on the saree pallus. Currently, Bishnupur and its surrounding areas of WB are where authentic Baluchari sarees are produced. It takes approximately one week to make one such saree.
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These sarees originated from the coastal district of Ganjam and are presently woven by Bhulia weavers of the Subarnapur district in Odisha. Bomkai looms are in cotton or silk and use thread work embroidered with Ikat (resist-dye) techniques. The designs range from flowers, fish, traditional Rudraksh motifs, and other inspirations from nature.
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These weaves have been a part of traditional Goan attire since time immemorial, especially for women working on paddy fields. Popular in beautiful shades of red with chequered designs of yellow or white, these cotton weaves have become quite rare due to the decrease in the number of weavers.
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The Kani shawl or Kashmir shawl originated from the Kanihama area of the Kashmir valley. It is one of the oldest handicrafts of Kashmir, going back to the time of Mughals. The shawls are woven from pashmina yarn. The name Kani depicts the wooden sticks deployed in weaving these shawls.
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Moirang Phee is a textile fabric which gets its name from a specific design called the Moirang Pheejin. It is woven sequentially on both longitudinal edges of the fabric and oriented towards the centre of the cloth with cotton or silk threads. It originates from the Moirang village in Manipur.
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Surat zari is a textile product of Surat district in Gujarat and made with golden, silver zari threads, intricately used for embroidery on silk and cotton fabrics. Surat zari can be traced back to the 14th century AD and is extensively used now in the textiles, apparel, and handloom industries.
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The word pashm in pashmina refers to a fine variant of spun cashmere, the animal-hair fibre forming the downy undercoat of the domesticated Changthangi goat living in the heights of the Himalayas. Commonly, pashmina may refer either to the material or to the variant of the Kashmir shawl made from it.
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Muga silk is a variety of wild silk GI tagged to the state of Assam in India. The silk is known for its extreme durability and has a natural yellowish-golden tint with a shimmering, glossy texture, previously reserved for the use of royalty. Muga is also used in products like sarees and mekhela chadors, a traditional Assamese sarong.
Image source: Wikipedia