Weaving

¤ Maheshwari Saris

Ancient texts speak of Madhya Pradesh as a famous centre of weaving between 7^th century and 2^nd century BC. Among the finest textures of northern India are the Maheshwari and Chanderi saris. Weavers settled in Maheshwar from Surat, Burhanpur and Banaras, at the insistence of Rani Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, who supported the growth of handloom weaving. The Maheshwari sari is gossamer thin - a delicate blend of silk and cotton yarn - made in tiny checks or stripes with a coloured border.


¤ Chanderi

The Chanderi, widely woven in Guna, is also extremely fine but has a more intricately woven border (with motifs) than the Maheshwari. The weavers in both Chanderi and Maheshwar are Muslims, while Hindus take on the trading. As with most handlooms and handicrafts of India, weaving these saris is mostly a family affair.

Chanderi is renowned for its most exquisite product: the gossamer thin Chanderi sari that has been woven here for centuries. The greater part of the town’s population is part of the weaver community and work at producing the Chanderi fabric known for its traditional motifs and fragile pastel colours. Over the years Chanderi saris have undergone many changes. The handspun yarn, which gave the fabric its gossamer quality, has been replaced by imported silk in the warp and by mill-made cotton thread or unboiled silk in the weft. The latter makes for more sheen but reduces durability as the rough silk cuts through the warp easily. This substitution has led to deterioration in the quality.


¤ Tussar silk

Tussar silk woven by the Devangan community of Madhya Pradesh is known by its Sanskrit name kosa. Raigarh and Champa are important centres for tussar silk saris and fabrics.


¤ Doria

saris can be found only in Kota, but the people who originally weaved them were not from here. In fact, a certain Kota ruler discovered them during one of his military campaigns in the south. Sometime in the 17^th century the Rao was in Mysore with his army fighting wars and trying to increase his kingdom when he bumped into weavers of the doria cloth. This cotton and silk fabric intricately woven with colourful floral motifs caught his fancy, and he brought its makers to Kota. Interestingly, doria weaving has now died in Mysore and flourishes only in Kota. The finished fabric is also known as Kota Masuria (from the word Mysore) as a tribute to its original ancestry.