Indian hand woven fabrics have been
known since time immemorial. Poets of the
Mughal durbar likened our muslins to baft
hawa (woven air), abe rawan (running water)
and shabnam (morning dew). A tale runs that
Emperor Aurangzeb had a fit of rage when
he one day saw his daughter princess Zeb-un-Nissa
clad in almost nothing. On being severely
rebuked, the princess explained that she
had not one but seven jamahs (dresses) on
her body. Such was the fineness of the hand
woven fabrics.
Historical Evidence
Though India was famous even in ancient
times as an exporter of textiles to most
parts of the civilized world, few actual
fabrics of the early dyed or printed
have survived. This, it is explained is
due to a hot, moist climate and the existence
of the monsoons in India. It is not surprising
therefore, that Egypt which has an exceptionally
dry climate would provide evidence which
India lacks. The earliest Indian fragment
of cloth (before the Christian era) with
a hansa (swan) design was excavated from
a site near Cairo where the hot dry sand
of the desert acted as a preservative. Later, fragments of finely woven and madder-dyed
cotton fabrics and shuttles were found at
some of the excavated sites of Mohenjodaro
(Indus valley civilization). Indian floral
prints, dating back to the 18th century
A.D were discovered by Sir Aurel Stein in
the icy waters of Central Asia. The evidence
shows that of all the arts and crafts of
India, traditional handloom textiles are
probably the oldest.
Handlooms The Largest Cottage Industry
Handlooms are an important craft product
and comprise the largest cottage industry
of the country. Millions of looms across
the country are engaged in cotton,
and other natural fibers. There is
hardly a village where weavers do not exist,
each weaving out the traditional beauty
of India's own precious heritage.
The Indian Heritage
In the world of , there are Madras
checks from Tamil Nadu, ikats from Andhra
and , tie and dye from Gujarat and
, brocades from Banaras, jacquards
form Uttar Pradesh. Daccai from West Bengal,
and from . Yet, despite this
regional distinction there has been a great
deal of technical and stylistic exchange.
The famed Coimbatore saris have developed
while imitating the Chanderi pattern of
Madhya Pradesh. Daccai saris are now woven
in Bengal, no Dhaka. The Surat tanchoi based
on a technique of satin weaving with the
extra weft floats that are absorbed in the
fabric itself has been reproduced in Varanasi.
Besides its own traditional weaves, there
is hardly any style of weaving that Varanasi
cannot reproduce. The Baluchar technique
of plain woven fabric brocaded with untwisted
silk thread, which began in Murshidabad
district of West Bengal, has taken root
in Varanasi. Their craftsmen have also borrowed
the jamdani technique.
Woolen weaves are no less subtle. The Kashmiri
weaver is known the world over for his Pashmina
and Shahtoosh shawls. The shawls are unbelievably
light and warm.
The states of Kashmir and Karnataka are
known for their mulberry silk. India is
the only country in the world producing
all four commercially known silks - mulberry,
tasser (tussore), eri and muga. Now gaining
popularity in the U.S.A. and Europe tasser
is found in the remote forests of Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Orissa West Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Another kind
of raw silk is eri. Eri is soft, dull and
has wool like finish.
Assam is the home of eri and muga silk.
Muga is durable and its natural tones of
golden yellow and rare sheen becomes more
lustrous with every wash. The designs used
in Assam, Tripura and Manipur are mostly
stylized symbols, cross borders and the
galaxy of stars. Assamese weavers produce
beautiful designs on the borders of their
mekhla, chaddar, riha (traditional garments
used by the women) and gamosa (towel). It
is customary in Assamese society for a young
woman to weave a silk bihuan (cloth draped
over the chest) for her beloved as a token
of love on Bohag Bihu (new year's eve).
From Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Gujarat
come the ikats. The ikat technique in India
is commonly known as patola in Gujarat,
bandha in Orissa, pagdu bandhu, buddavasi
and chitki in Andhra Pradesh. In the ikat
tie and dye process, the designs in various
colors are formed on the fabric either by
the warp threads or the weft threads or
by both. The threads forming the design
are tied and dyed separately to bring in
the desired color and the simple interlacement
of the threads produces, the most intricate
designs, that appear only in the finished
weaving. The Orissa ikat is a much older
tradition that Andhra Pradesh or Gujarat,
and their more popular motifs as such are
a stylized fish and the rudraksh bead. Here
the color is built up thread by thread.
In fact, Orissa ikat is known now as yarn
tie and dye. In Andhra Pradesh, they bunch
some threads together and tie and dye and
they also have total freedom of design.
Some say that ikat was an innovative technique,
first created in India, which wast later
carried to Indonesia, the only other place
in the world with a strong ikat tradition.
Using Dyes
The process of resist dyeing, tie-dyeing
and yarns tie-dyed to a pattern before weaving
were the basic techniques of indigenous
dyeing of village cloth. Shellac was used
for reds, iron shavings and vinegar for
blacks, turmeric for yellow and pomegranate
rinds for green.
Before the artificial synthesis of indigo
and alizarin as dye stuffs, blues and reds
were traditionally extracted from the plants
indigofera, anil and rubia tintorum (madder-root).
These were the main sources for traditional
Indian dyes.
Even today, the Kalmkari cloth of Andhra
Pradesh is printed with local vegetable
dyes. The colors being shades of ochre,
deep blue and a soft rose derived from local
earths, indigo and madder roots.
Printing
Andhra Pradesh has made a significant contribution
to the history of hand-printed textiles
in India. Printing is native to the land,
its pigments being obtained from the flowers,
leaves and barks of local trees and it chemicals
obtained from clay, dung and river sands.
A new technique has been developed in the
northern sectors where warp threads are
lined, measured and tied to the loom and
then printed. The warp-printed material
is a specialty of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The ideal seasons for block printing are
the dry months. Excellence is achieved only
if the block is freshly and perfectly chiseled.
The designs are produced by artists and
the designing is kept within the discipline
imposed, the type of yarn, the dyes used
and the weaving techniques, by the nakshabandhas
(graph-paper designers).
India also produces a range of home furnishings,
household linen, curtain tapestry and yardage
of interesting textures and varying thickness,
which have been devised by using blended
yarn.
Muslims were forbidden the use of pure
silk, and the half cotton half silk, fabrics
known, as mashru and himru were a response
to this taboo.
Given the wide and exciting range of handloom
it is not surprising that the rich and beautiful
products of the weavers of India have been
called "exquisite poetry in colorful
fabrics." |