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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