Saree Search

End-piece of a cotton Telia Rumal saree The Telia Rumal is the precursor of Pochampally Ikat which is woven in what was earlier Andhra Pradesh (although, after the state was split, the main weaving centres have found themselves in the newly-created state of Telangana). Sized between 55 and 75 square cm, the Rumals or Chowkas featuring diamonds within squares were initially woven in 19th century Chirala (still in Andhra Pradesh) and used by fishermen and cowherds in their attire. By the 1930s, they were exported to the Middle East, Burma, and East Africa where they were used as headgear, and, soon after in the 1950s, their patterns were adopted in sarees at the suggestion of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay who was the chairperson of the All India Handicrafts Board at the time. A quarter of a century later, in the 1970s, a weaver named Gajam Govardhana from Puttapaka, Nalgonda, visited Chirala and learnt how to make the Telia Rumal. It was through him that the technique of weaving the...

Narayanpet Saree Now in Telangana, Narayanpet is a town which, till quite recently, lay in Andhra Pradesh near the Karnataka border. It is believed that its tradition of weaving arose sometime in the 17th century: Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is reputed to have brought some Maharashtrian weavers to Narayanpet, who brought with them a tradition of weaving Narayanpeth sarees. Today, Narayanpeth sarees from Maharashtra are all but indistinguishable from the Narayanpet sarees of Andhra Pradesh. Contemporary Narayanpet sarees may be woven in silk, cotton, or silk-cotton. They have borders of between 3 and 5.5 inches which run along both sides of each saree, and endpieces which are about 60 cm long and tend to feature simple striped designs. The borders, which usually have zari 'ribbons' woven into them, are of equal breadth on both sides, feature a small temple design (especially when the sarees are woven in silk), and contrast with the colour of the (often c...

End-piece of a Paithani Saree Paithani sarees are originally from Paithan near Aurangabad in Maharashtra although they are now also woven in Yeola, Maharashtra. In addition to this, Paithani-type sarees are often made in Gadwal, Andhra Pradesh. The city of Paithan itself is ancient; once called Prathisthan, it was one of the cities from which the Satavahana dynasty ruled some two thousand years ago. The other cities in which this dynasty was based were Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar near Pune in Maharashtra. There are tales that King Shalivahana (c. 78–102 CE) of the Satavahana dynasty patronised the Paithani saree which could potentially explain how similar sarees are made in both Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh although there doesn’t appear to be any concrete evidence to support this theory. What is reasonably clear is that the sarees have been woven for centuries; that they were the attire of royalty is supported by documentation particularly of ...

Girl standing in Pochampalli sari, Hermann Linde (1863-1923). (Source: Wikimedia )  Pochampally Ikat sarees are made in Nalconda and Warangal areas of Andhra Pradesh, now in Telangana. They are relatively new in India's saree landscape originating, it is believed, in the 19th century, and are distinguished by diamond, chowka (diamond in a square), and other geometrical patterns many of which appear to have been adopted from ‘Telia Rumals’ woven in Chirala that predate the development of Pochampally sarees. The yarn used in the sarees is resist-dyed before being woven to create patterns usually in black, red and white. Although Pochampally sarees earlier sometimes had borders embellished with designs using supplementary yarn, today's sarees have borders which, more often than not, are plain. Apart from this, the spectrum of designs used on Pochampally sarees has widened over time, and flowers, dancing girls, parrots and elephants reminiscent of those seen on...

Motif on an Uppada Jamdani Saree Uppada Jamdani Sarees from coastal Andhra Pradesh tell a tale of lost know-how and revivalism. These sarees, which date back to the 17th century were once made of fine cotton with pure gold and silver zari. They were worn only by royal women – weavers (patronised by the houses of Venkatagiri, Pithapuram, and Bobili) were apparently not allowed to sell the sarees to anyone outside the royal households. In their heyday, reputedly woven so fine that they could fit into matchboxes, Uppada Jamdani sarees are now woven of silk, tussar and cotton, or some combination of them, and feature flora and fauna (which, in effect, means that they primarily feature motifs of flowers, peacocks, parrots and elephants). These ‘new’ Uppada sarees are a result of a revival of the art in the mid-1980s. The motifs, which don't necessarily have geometrical hard angles, are woven ‘within’ the fabric; they are clearly visible on both sides of the fabric and are rarel...

A very rough sketch a Gollabama motif Gollabama sarees are made in Siddipet, Andhra Pradesh, of rough cotton and sometimes of silk. They are a comparatively new creation dating back to the 1940s after a film was produced depicting the legend of a queen named Gollabama who was somehow separated from her husband, the King Vikramaditya. During their separation, the queen became a milkmaid. One day, the king chanced upon her, drank some milk, and failed to immediately recognise her although they were ultimately reunited. The distinguishing feature of these sarees is the image of a milkmaid which is certain to be found on the endpiece of the saree, and possibly on both the body of the saree as butis and on the saree's lower border. The motifs are handwoven in cotton regardless of whether the saree itself is silk or cotton. They feature a milkmaid carrying a pot in her hand or on her head (or both), and each motif often faces the same direction giving, if the motifs are in profile...