Saree Series: West India

Hello everyone! Today is the final article in my series about sarees from all over India. This final article will be about West India. The states included are: Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Not as many states as my last article but still diverse in culture. Western India is known for its bright colourful handwork dyed sarees.

Nauvari - Maharashtra 

Nauvari sarees are also known as Kasta saree and Lugade saree. These sarees are 9 yards long, which is where they got the name "Nauvari" meaning "9 yards" in Marathi. Usually made with cotton.

Paithani - Maharashtra 

Paithani silk sarees come from the town of Paithan, Maharashtra. They usually feature a square design along the borders and nature designs on the pallu. Made with rich coloured pure silk and gold zari.  These sarees are very valuable and expensive. The weaving technique goes back to 200 BC.

Kota Doria - Rajasthan 

Kota Doria are handloom sarees made of silk and cotton blend. Woven into a square pattern known as "khat" with zari work on the borders. The fabric is very lightweight and fine. The weaving technique is originally from Mysore but was brought to Kota, Rajasthan by the Mughals in the 17th century.

Lehariya - Rajasthan

Lehariya is a type of tie-and-dye fabric that is used to make sarees. Made with cotton, silk, chiffon or georgette. The word "Lehariya" literally means "wave like" in Rajasthani. The fabric is tied and dyed to create vertical lines across the saree.

Patola - Gujarat

Patola sarees are handloom silk sarees that feature ikat weaving. They are made in Patan, Gujarat. These sarees are extremely expensive. Each strand of silk is dyed separately, which means that these sarees can take up to a year to make.

Bandhej - Gujarat

Bandhej is also known as Bandhani and is a type of tie-and-dye design from Gujarat. The fabric is tied very tightly and then dyed. After the dying process the knots are taken off and the fabric will feature a unique pattern. This art form is traced back 5000 years ago. 

Gharchola - Gujarat

Gharchola or Ghatchola is a type of Bandhej saree worn by brides. The word "Gharchola" literally means "Outfit for home" because it is given to a new bride from her future mother-in-law. It is usually red or green in colour with checked bandhej patterns and zari borders.

Thank you for reading my series on sarees from around India. I have quite enjoyed writing about the variety of sarees and researching them for this series. I love Indian culture, and I will hopefully make more articles about Indian culture because it's my passion. I hope you enjoyed my series and I will try to write regularly on my blog from now on.

-Amy Katrina

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Saree Series: South India

Hello everyone! Today I will be showing you the 3rd part of my 4 part series on Sarees from across India. This post will focus on South India including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Telangana states. This is a lot more states than my last articles, but they are all in the same region. South India is diverse in culture and language just like the rest of India.

Venkatagiri - Andhra Pradesh

Venkatgiri or Venkatagiri sarees are made with cotton with zari borders. They are known for their simple design and soft feel. They usually include bird and nature motifs on the pallu. These sarees were originally woven for royalty. They are made in Venkatagiri, a town in Andhra Pradesh.

Mangalagiri - Andhra Pradesh

Managagiri sarees are handloom cotton sarees with wide zari borders. A special process is done when preparing the cotton for weaving where they boil and use caustic soda to bleach the cotton in order to dye it. It is then left to dry in the sun. This process produces beautiful rich colours. Mangalgiri sarees are made in the town of Mangalgiri.

Pochampally - Andhra Pradesh
Pochampally silk sarees are similar to sarees from Odisha. They both use Ikat however these sarees are lighter, smoother and are usually a silk/cotton blend. This kind of saree has very detailed geometric patterns made with Ikat.

Gadwal - Andhra Pradesh

Gadwal sarees are made with cotton with silk borders. Similar to Banarasi sarees in terms of weaving. These sarees also feature zari work along the borders and pallu. Originally made with earth tones they are now a variety of colours.

Kasavu - Kerala

Kasavu sarees are very traditional in Kerala, usually worn on special occasions especially the Onam festival.  They are always cream coloured with thick zari border. Modern Kasavu sarees usually have more zari and coloured thread work designs on the borders and pallu.

Mysore Silk - Karnataka
Mysore silk was originally worn by royalty in The Kingdom of Mysore. Silk production in Karnataka was one of the main industries of the region until the 1930's. However the silk industry has been revived in Karnataka and is thriving.

Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu
Kanchipuram silk is also known as Kanjivaram silk. These are handloom woven silk sarees from Kanchipuram village of Tamil Nadu. These silk sarees are heavily favoured by South Indian brides. They are known for the quality and thickness of the silk, the rich colours, and zari and brocade weaving.

Narayanpet - Telangana 

Narayanpet silk sarees are from the town of Narayanpet, Telangana. They are handloom silk with checked designs and simple zari borders. They are dyed with natural vegetable dye. These sarees aren't very expensive compared to other handloom sarees

Thank you for reading this article. Next week I will make my final part of this series. I hope you enjoyed this article. Stay tuned for the 4th and final part of this series next week. 

- Amy Katrina

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Saree Series: East India

Hello everyone! Today I will be showing you the second part of my 4 part series of sarees from all over India. This time I will focus on the eastern part of India including: West Bengal, Odisha, and Assam. Eastern India is well known for their handloom sarees, usually made of silk or cotton. 

Matka - West Bengal 

Matka silk is from silk worms grown in Karnataka and Kashmir and woven into sarees in West Bengal. This silk is known for its texture and durability. The texture is similar to tweed.

Kantha - West Bengal

Kantha is a kind of embroidery from rural West Bengal. It is a very old art, that traces back to Vedic period. Done as a running stitch with nature motifs like birds and animals usually done on the borders of sarees. The word "kantha" is Bengali for "throat" which stems from a Hindu story of Lord Shiva after he consumed poison.

Batik - West Bengal

Batik is a process of using wax and dye to create elaborate designs on fabric. Wax is applied to the fabric then it is dyed, after a few layers of wax and dye it is boiled off. Usually done on cotton or silk it is now done on georgette. West Bengal is known for their Batik sarees, however other parts of India also do batik work.

Baluchari - West Bengal

Baluchari silk sarees are made in both India and Bangladesh. They are similar to Chanderi sarees however Baluchari sarees are made only with pure silk. These sarees are bright in colour and always have a woven design on the pallu depicting Hindu mythological stories.

Tant - West Bengal

Tant cotton handloom sarees are very favoured among Bengali women. They are crisp slightly sheer fabric and usually have a thick border with a wide variety of motifs on the pallu. Tant or Taant literally means "Of the Loom".

Sambalpuri - Odisha

Sambalpuri sarees are handloom cotton or silk fabric that is then tie and dye in a process called Ikat. These sarees are made in Sambalpur and Berhampur, Odisha.  Motifs that are seen on these types of sarees are shells, wheels and flowers, all of which have symbolic meaning

Bomkai - Odisha

Bomkai silk or cotton sarees are from the villiage of Bomkai, Odisha. They are known for their intricate thread work and usually has some Ikat work on the edges. Motifs on the edges are nature inspired mostly including flowers and plants.

Muga Silk - Assam

Muga silk is a type of silk from Assam. It is considered one of the rarest silks in the world and is quite expensive. Made from muga silkworms it comes out a yellowish colour which is where the name "muga" which means "yellow" in Assamese. 

I hope you enjoyed this article. Stay tuned for next week when I feature another region of India and the sarees that originate from it. Thank you for reading.

- Amy Katrina

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Saree Series: North and Central India

Hello Everyone! Today I will start my series about sarees from all around India. I will focus on different regions starting with North and Central India. I will include pictures I have found online of each kind of saree.

To start off, a saree is a traditional dress from India. It is a long piece of fabric folded and tucked into a petticoat along with a matching blouse underneath. The most decorated end of the saree is called the 'pallu'. It can be made with many different materials like cotton, silk, linen, net, and lace. Most sarees now are made with synthetic material and are machine made. However India is known for their handloom sarees, where artisans weave the fabric by hand on a loom and incorporate detailed designs into the fabric. Most traditional handloom sarees are made with either silk or cotton.  Many different regions have their own style of fabrics, embroidery, design, patterns and length.

Today I'll focus on North and Central India. This includes Uttar Pradesh in the North, and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in Central India.

North:

Gota - Uttar Pradesh 

Gota sarees are usually made with tissue, georgette, or chiffon with a thick embellished lace sewn on called 'gota'.  These sarees originated in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. 

Banarasi - Uttar Pradesh 

Banarasi handloom silk sarees come from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. These sarees are well known in India for their quality 'zari' work, which is when gold or silver thread is woven into the fabric. Most patterns include floral and nature type designs. Usually these sarees are bright in colour. Many women wear these sarees for their wedding. 

Chikan kari - Uttar Pradesh 

Chikankari is a traditional embroidery technique from Lucknow. It is usually done on muslin cloth. Patterns and design are traced back to the Mughal era when the Persians ruled Northern India. Originally done with white thread on white fabric it is now done on many different coloured fabrics with colourful thread. 

Central:

Chanderi - Madhya Pradesh 

Chanderi sarees originate from the town of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh. They are handloom sarees made with thin translucent cotton or cotton/silk blend. Usually mute in colour with golden zari borders.

Kosa - Chhattisgarh 

Kosa silk sarees also known as Tussar silk sarees come from Indian silkworms. Usually brown, gold, honey, or amber in colour from the natural process of making silk, it is then dyed to create rich coloured saree fabric

Maheshwari - Madhya Pradesh

Maheshwari sarees are similar to Chanderi sarees. They are from the town of Maheshwar.  Made with cotton and silk or a blend of both. Traditionally they are very simple in design and come in a variety of colours. 

Thank you for reading my article. Next week I'll feature another part of India and the sarees that originate from there. I hope you have a great week

- Amy Katrina

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