Dhaniakhali Sarees

From the border of a contemporary Dhaniakhali saree

Dhaniakhali, or Dooneacolly as it was once called, is in Hooghly, West Bengal, and has been known for its weaving in silk, silk-cotton and tassar, since at least the 17^th century, if not earlier.

Dhaniakhali sarees, as we know them today, however, are probably a product of the 20^th century. Early sarees were off-white cotton sarees with thin, plain coloured borders called Maatha or Beluari Paar – in the days before chemical dyes were available, the borders would likely have had to be red, orange, maroon or green.

Contemporary Dhaniakhali sarees have no such limitations: although they are still cotton sarees, finer than they once were, borders are now often intricate, the bodies of the sarees themselves are more often than not coloured, and (in contrast to the weft stripes which marked the end-pieces in early sarees), the end-pieces of modern Dhaniakhali sarees can also be extremely elaborate effectively featuring full-fleged woven tapestries of people and animals, possibly in panels.

Accents in the borders and end-pieces of Dhaniakhali sarees which were once woven with yellowish-golden Muga silk are now also woven with zari. And the sarees themselves are no longer woven exclusively in Dhaniakhali but in the larger Dhaniakhali cluster or block.