PRESENTATION ON SAREES WEST BENGALORISSA AND BIHAR

ANIMA SINGHDEEPSHIKHA TOMARKUMAR VIKASHSHASHANK SHANDILYA

INTRODUCTION

• A Saree is a strip of unstiched clothes worn by females, ranging from four to nine yards in length that is draped over the body in various styles.

• The most common style is for the sarre to be wraped around the waist.

Sarees of Bengal

• Jamdani sarees• Baluchari sarees• Kantha sarees• Dhaka muslin• Shantipuri sarees• Tangail sarees

Jamdani saree

• Jamdani is an ancient fine muslin cloth with geometric or floral designs.

• Jamdani came from the persian word “ jama “ which means cloth and “ dana “ which means buti .

• Sarees with a great varity of patterns done with geometrical motifs designed on simple or frame looms.

Preparation of sarees• For making yarns weavers needed taku, a bamboo basket, a

shell and a stone cup. They used popcorn, rice or barley for starch. Before making jamdani designs they used to dye their yarn and starch it.

• For dye they used flowers and leaves of creepers. For quality jamdani they used yarn of 200 to 250 counts.

• For making jamdani two weavers sit side by side at a loom to work on the delicate designs.

• The designs are made while the fabric is still on the loom. Coarse yarns are used for designs to make the motifs rise above the fabric.

Types of jamdani sarees..• Jamdanis are mostly woven in lightly dyed

backgrounds with designs in white, maroon, black, green, gold, silver and in muga silk of a golden colour. There is a key difference in the weaving technique of extra weft designing between jamdanis and tangails"

• The main peculiarity of the work is the geometric design.

• Present day they have on their ground designs of rose, jasmine, lotus, bunch of bananas, bunch of ginger and sago.

• A jamdani with small flowers diapered on the fabric is known as butidar. If these flowers are arranged in reclined position it is called tersa jamdani .

• If designs with peacocks and leaves of creepers cover the entire field of the sari it is called jalar naksha.If the field is covered with rows of flowers it is known as fulwar jamdani.

• Duria jamdani has designs of spots all over.

• Belwari jamdani with colorful golden borders used to be made during the Mughal period.

Baluchari saree• The most well-known Bengal Silk

sari, which carry its legendary name, is the Baluchari sari - a product of exquisite design and fabulous weaving technique. Produced in the town of Baluchar in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, Baluchari sarees are nation and world wide popular because of their artistic and unique design

• Baluchar saree is famous for its shear weight and the richness of its untwisted silk.

• The specialty of the Baluchar saris is the large Pallu with a central pattern of flowing Kalgas, the mango design enclosed by repetitive frames of miniatures. . The sari borders were narrow with floral and foliage motifs and the fall of the sari was covered with small paisley and other floral designs in undemonstrated but bright colour schemes

Motifs used on sarees

The unique features of baluchar saris is the combination of animal and bird motifs incorporated in floral and paisley decorations while other motifs included hunters on horses, elephants and scenes from the nawab‘s court

Kantha sarees

Kantha is still the most popular form of embroidery practised by rural women. The traditional form of Kantha embroidery was done with soft dhotis and saris, with a simple running stitch along the edges. Depending on the use of the finished product they were known as Lepkantha or Sujni Kantha

• In the best examples, the entire cloth is covered with running stitches, employing beautiful motifs of flowers, animals birds and geometrical shapes, as well as themes from everyday activities.

• The stitching on the cloth gives it a slight wrinkled, wavy effect. Contemporary Kantha is applied to a wider range of garments such as sarees, dupatta, shirts . mostly using cotton and silk.

DAKKA MUSLIN• The Ganga delta, most of which is in

bangladesh, is the indigenous home of the dakka muslin sari, which was the finest of all Bengali muslins.

• These muslins had poetic names that were also given to the finer silks and brocades of the period : abrawan (flowing water) , baft- bana (woven air), shab- nam (evening dew), and malmal khas (king’s muslin, which refer to the transparency of the fabric.

• The finest sort of Muslin was made of phuti cotton, grown in certain localities on the banks of the Brahmaputra and its branches.

• The finest sort of Muslin was called Malmal.

• It was costly, and the weavers spent a long time, sometimes six months, to make a piece of this sort.

• It was used by emperors, nawabs .• Places of manufacturing muslin were Dhaka,

Sonargaon,Dhamrai, Teetbady, Junglebary and Bajitpur.

TANGAIL SAREE

• Tangail saree got its name from the place of its origin, Tangail, where it was traditionally woven.

• The Tangail is said to be the most successful hybrid of the Jamdani and Shantipuri sarees.

• Tangails are woven even in silk wrap and cotton weft, and even in pure silk.

• The boarder is either plain or is done with extra weft patterning in the ground .

TANGAIL SAREES

SHANTIPURI SAREE• The traditional Shantipuri saree wore by the

upper-middle-class Bengali ladies.• The Shantipuri sarees were woven on throw-

shuttle pitloom. A needle called chiyu is used to lift the pattern.

• The borders on the saris of Shantipuri could be either dyed cotton-silk or art-silk or viscose yarns or gold and silver zaris.

• The background of the saris has fine and delicate checks, stripes, or a texture created by coloured threads or a combination of fine and thicker yarn.

SANTIPURI SAREES

THE SAREES OF ORISSA

Orrissa is a beautiful state, well irrigated by rivers its landscape rising up from the temple towns of the coast through the eastern ghats with their thick forests, to the deccan plateau.. Influence on textile art is seen through the presence of motifs such as the temple borders, lotus, conches and wheels, that signify the affinity with the reigning deity or goddess.

Orissa's western hills consist of Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Balangir,Kalahandi and Phulbani districts, with Sambalpur and Balangir being the primary handloom-weaving areas, especially in such towns as Sambalpur, Sonepur, Bargarh, Butapali and Barpali. The sarees from this area ar often called 'Sambalpur saris', as many of the major weavers' cooperatives are in this district. Traditional handloom saris are woven in heavy, low-count cotton and tasar silk, for both tribal and Hindu rural groups Since the mid-1970s

TYPES OF SAREES IN ORRISAThe state of Orissa makes 4 distinct types of sarees.1. BOMKAI SAREE2. SAMBALPURI SAREES3. BEHRAMPURI SILK SAREES4. PASAPALLI SAREES

1. THE BOMKAI SAREE: The bomkai saree is a recent adaptation from tribal sareesand is named after a tribal village in southern Orissa. It has an embroidery-like work onthe border and pallo (the broad band at the end).the work is very intricate.

2.SAMBALPURI SAREES: Sambhalpuri sarees, with their richly woven borders and pallus are among the most popular Odissi sarees. is a traditional handwoven Ikkat saree (locally called shadhi) where in the warp and the weft are tie-dyed before weaving. It is produced in the Bargarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur and nearby districts of Orissa. The saree is a traditional female garment in the Indian Subcontinent consisting of a strip of unstitched cloth ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles.The below are examples of the ‘Bandha’ or tie-and-dye or double ikat fromSambhalpur and is one of the several variations of Sambhalpuris

3.BEHRAMPURI SILK SAREES: The third type is the Behrampuri silk, which are usually heavy, with narrow borders, that are slightly plain, without the intricate designs generally found on the Sambhalpuri sarees,the Khandua pata,which is cheaper than the Sambhalpuri because the yarn used is less expensive.

4.PASAPALLI SAREES: with its distinctive black-and-white squares is a replica of the chessboard. Equally fascinating are the names—Vichitrapuri, Chandrika, Nabagunja, Asman Tara and Krishnapriya. The earlier yarns of coarse cotton have been replaced with fine cotton, silks, tussar and a cotton-silk mix called ‘bapta’. Gold thread and tissues are also used to enhance the patterns.Among Vichitrapuri, Chandrika, Nabagunja, Asman Tara and Krishnapriya, VICHITRAPURI SAREE is most famous.

VICHITRAPURI SAREES:This is Pasapalli saree with its distinctive maroon and white small squares on a alternate of black and maroon big squares is a replica of a chess board .Its having double borders which are hand woven silk thread works with motifs and traditional border which makes the saree beautiful.The uniqueness in this saree is that its having a traditional border in middle which makes the saree look royal. This saree is named as "Bichitrapuri Saree".This is maroon black combination but u can customize any color of choice. The Aanchal or Pallu (falling edge of the saree) of the saree with traditional motifs , like Shankha (Shell), Chakra(Wheel), phulla (flower), animals with deep symbolism, but the highpoint of these sarees is traditional craftsmanship of the 'Bandhakala', reflected in their intricate weaves.

The bichchitrapuri sari

The Bomkai saree

MOTIFSMotifs are regarded as highly auspicious, and were used in the older, nineteenth-century khandua, which were worn as a wedding veil over the sari. Today, the range of motifs found within the field of the coastal plains saris is much wider than in the past, and repeated ,designs based on stars (tara), lotus flowers, vines, and auspicious animals such as the elephant and peacock (maira) are common.

•THE LOTUS•THE RUDRAKSHA.•THE MATSYA OR FISH•THE TORTOISE•THE COILED SERPENT•THE PEACOCK.•THE BICHITRAPURI ANCHAL• THE ELEPHANT•THE DHARMA-CHAKRA

COLOURSIt must be noted that the color and design palette for men’s dressing is conservativewhile women dress in any and every possible color, design and pattern. The onlyexceptions are white, black and red. White signifies death and is necessarily wornin mourning. Red is auspicious and is necessarily worn by the bride. Black isinauspicious and is not a good colour to wear at weddings or festivecelebrations. These colors lead to strong associations and are part of a bundle ofnonverbal communication but these may be worn on other occasions without anymeaning.An Odissi saree cannot hope to blend quietly into the background! Mosthandloom Odissi sarees contains bright and strong colours. Vegetable dyes havebeen replaced by chemical dyes, though the former is still available, but the pricesare significantly higher.

• SPECIAL ELEMEMTS OF ODISSI SAREES:1. THE DHOOP-CHAON EFFECT:In silks, a stunning impact is created when the colours of the weft and warp are different.The shadow–light effect is amazing and is not easy to capture on a camera. Movementor difference in field of depth shows this effect off perfectly.

2. THE BORDERThis is a special element of all sarees. It takes on representations from the culture of the place that creates it. The sarees from Orissa have a border which shows the silhouettes of these temples seen as simple mountain peaks. Sea shells or wheels are another major characteristic of borders in Oriya sarees.

3. BUTTISThese are small little elements that may be present all over the saree in some form of symmetry. They may populate the saree sparsely or densely and the more work there is on the saree, the ‘heavier’ it gets – not only in real weight terms but in price perceptions as well. These are minor elements and cannot on their own create magic. They can only support the overall design through a splattering of colour or consonant design elements.These two pictures show details of the ‘buttis’ which are present all over the saree. In sarees from other states, this element plays a major role, but in Oriya sarees, they are generally very sparse and small.

4. EMBROIDERYThe actual embroidery work may be done using ‘zari’ which is golden thread (not gold – justgolden) or silk thread. The presence of golden thread or zari work makes a sari very heavyfiguratively – and the use of such heavy sarees is warranted only at weddings of families andclose friends. On all the silk examples above, the threadwork is resham or silk threa

5. PALLOThis is the loose end of the sari thatflows freely and is usually its mostattractive part. The pallaa or paalavor pallo may have contrasting colorsor designs and stands out from therest of the sari. This part may be upto a meters long. It is also theportion used as a partial veil in atemple or as a mark of respectamong elders in traditionallyconservative societies in thenorthern belts. The pallo of theOdissi saree is always arranged inhorizontal lines with motifs fillingup the space in between. Linesalternating with a variety of motifsseems to be the signature of theclassic Odissi textile.

MATERIALSCOTTON

Odissi cottons are thick with a high thread count as well as thicker yarn and are available in varying degrees of fineness. Cottons are usually starched stiff for maximum effect prior to draping. Odissi sarees are available in the 5 yard format as well as the ‘dupatta’ format which is 2.25 metre.

SILK

Tussar silk originated from Orissa and is one of the lighter, more delicateand stiffer silks available. The best known saris of this area are the mulberry silk and tasar silk ikats that were once woven for local royal courts, as well as fordonation to temples and for wedding. Today such saris are still created for temple donations and weddings, but most are now woven for India's urban middle classes, their bright colouring being a popular feature .

SAREES OF BIHAR• In bihar ,embroidered and appliqued textiles are known to

have been created since at lest the 17th century and embroidered wedding saris are traditionally worn by high caste brides

• Producers are Bhagalpur, Hazaribagh , Ranchi, Begusarai etc.• Gota saris- Made of red silk Before cotton was used upon which zari was

done.

Gota saree

• Tussar silk saris of Bihar –• Two types of tasar saris are woven today namely plain tasar

and mixed tasar cotton.• Plain tasar saris made from reeled threads are popular

throughout India. Also called sania,they were traditionally worn by brahmin and other orthodox hindu women when cooking and eating meals.

• Local saris made from mixed tasar cotton fabric are still being created ,although they usually reverse the tasar warp ,cotton weft structure recorded by Buchanan.

• Many of these modern saris also use ikat dyed cotton warp borders imported from Orissa .

VARIOUS TUSSAR SILK SARIS:MATARIASALAMKHANIAKIRKIRITABIJAMORKANTHINAURANJIGANDHAKISURAJMUKHIFARMAISHI