Chinnalampati Sarees

The same saree with/sans flash (L),
close ups of the tassels and selvedges (R).

I was told that this saree is a Chinnalapattu handloom silk saree. The material felt rough and unfamiliar to me, a bit like what seemed to be Kanjeevaram-lite, not quite Kanjeevaram but somehow reminiscent of it.

The saree has no zari, is of indeterminate colour (which is to say that it's stunningly beautiful and keeps changing colour depending on how light hits it), and cost much less than one would expect to pay for a Kanjeevaram.

I didn't know the first thing about sarees like this though so requested Maith Iyengar, my go-to person for knowledge about South Indian sarees, for information. Here's what she had to say:

“Chinnalampati saris used to be considered a lighter (cheaper) alternative to kanjeevarams. My grandmothers both wore them for daily use. They are handlooms alright though the CPs I remember didn't have zari. The two colored effect is common with Chinnalampati – also checks or stripes. When washed they go very soft much like voile thus the use for daily wear (no a/c then :)) It also used to be known as moth repellant. As in, the clothes moths that could attack silks; CP saris didn't need to be babied in moth balls and camphor for storage unlike kanjeevarams etc. – no idea if that's true. I understand the cheapness of machine woven silks has driven the popularity of CP silks down.”