Bandhani Sarees

Bandhani tie-and-dye saree (Photo: Mandayamr)

The earliest visual evidence of Bandhani or tie-and-dye patterning in India comes from paintings in the Ajanta caves which date to the 6th and 7th centuries while the earliest textual reference seems to be in Bana’s Harshacharita detailing the life of the 7th century King Harsh.

Today, Bandhani is predominantly associated with Gujarat and Rajasthan, although it is also seen in South Indian Sungudi sarees. Fabric is dyed after ‘knots’ have been tied on it in often circular patterns typically associated with Bandhani possibly with the help of fingernails, beads, or grains – the use of nails is far more common in Rajasthan than in Gujarat. The motifs are usually tied onto the cloth using a simple cotton thread with one thread being used for a number of ‘knots’ (each of which is basically a bit of fabric pinched and tied so that when the cloth is later dyed, the parts of the fabric ‘protected’ by the tied thread remain undyed, revealing a pattern once the thread is removed).

In a relatively new development, washable dyes may be used to mark where the ‘knots’ to form a pattern should be tied; older artisans simply knotted fabric directly, or if patterns were intricate, drew them by hand on to the fabric before tying it. Bandhani is used on cotton, silk and wool. Apart from sarees, it is used on other garments and furnishings, and, when it comes to sarees, Bandhani is used not only on everyday sarees but also on sarees for ceremonial occasions such as the Gujarati Gharchola and Panetar sarees.

Panetar are white silk with a red Bandhani border while, traditionally, Gharchola was red cotton with large zari checks; within each square would be a Bandhani pattern. Nowadays, however, Gharchola may also be of colours such as green or blue, and is often in silk. During marriage ceremonies, Panetar, the last saree from a bride’s natal family is ‘substituted’ with Gharchola, the first from her marital family.

The smaller the Bandhani knots are and the more intricate the patterns are, the more valuable the saree becomes. Apart from floral motifs, elephants, parrots, and dancers are also seen. In some Bandhani sarees, however, it is not knots which are tied on the parts of the fabric but the entire fabric itself which is tied by being bound by thread at intervals of about an inch. When the thread is later removed, it forms wave-like patterns to create what are known as Leheriya sarees; ‘Leher’ means a wave.