!['Sari' from Varanasi (north-central India), silk and gold-wrapped silk yarn with supplementary weft brocade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/%27Sari%27_from_Varanasi_%28north-central_India%29%2C_silk_and_gold-wrapped_silk_yarn_with_supplementary_weft_brocade.jpg)
A Banarasi sari is a
sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
made in
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
, an ancient city which is also called
Benares
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tr ...
(Banaras). The saris are among the finest saris in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and are known for their gold and silver
brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...
or
zari
''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make in ...
, fine silk and opulent embroidery. The saris are made of finely woven
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
and are decorated with intricate design, and, because of these engravings, are relatively heavy.
![20160629 044228800 iOS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/20160629_044228800_iOS.jpg)
Their special characteristics intricate intertwining floral and foliate motifs, ''kalga'' and ''bel'', a string of upright leaves called ''jhallar'' at the outer, edge of border is a characteristic of these saris. Other features are gold work, compact weaving, figures with small details, metallic visual effects, pallus, jal (a net like pattern), and mina work.
The saris are often part of an Indian bride's
trousseau
Trousseau may refer to:
*A dowry
*The wardrobe of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing
*A hope chest, glory box or its contents
*Trousseau (grape), a wine grape also known as Bastardo
** Trousseau Gris, a white mutation of the ...
.
Depending on the intricacy of its designs and patterns, a sari can take from 15 days to a month and sometimes up to six months to complete. Banarasi saris are mostly worn by Indian women on important occasions such as when attending a wedding and are expected to be complemented by the woman's best jewelry.
History
Ralph Fitch
Ralph Fitch (1550 – 1611) was a gentleman merchant of London and one of the earliest British travellers and merchants to visit Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, south Asia & Southeast Asia. At first he was no chronicler but he d ...
(1583–91) describes Banaras as a thriving sector of the cotton textile industry. The earliest mention of the brocade and
Zari
''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make in ...
textiles of Banaras is found in the 19th century. With the migration of silk weavers from Gujarat during the famine of 1603, it is likely that silk brocade weaving started in Banaras in the seventeenth century and developed in excellence during the 18th and 19th century. During the
Mughal period
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
, around 14th century, weaving of
brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...
s with intricate designs using gold and silver threads became the specialty of Banaras.
The traditional Banarasi sari is done with cottage industry for about 1.2 million people associated directly or indirectly with the hand loom silk industry of the region around Varanasi encompassing
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...
,
Chandauli
Chandauli is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chandauli district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chandauli District.
Geography
Chandauli is located at . It has an average elevation of . It comes ...
,
Bhadohi
Bhadohi is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is home to the largest hand-knotted carpet weaving industry hub in South Asia. The city is 45 km west of Varanasi and 82 km east of Allahabad.
Demographics
As of 2011 Indi ...
,
Jaunpur and
Azamgarh district
Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Etymology
The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...
s.
[
In the last few years, a variety of independent, Varanasi-based brands have emerged to revive the Banarasi sari and bring them directly to mainstream consumers, including Ekaya, ]Tilfi
Tilfi is a traditional weaving technique in Banarasi brocades which uses three colour yarns. The term was introduced to a wider audience by a Varanasi-based, Indian brand of the same name, Tilfi Banaras, that specialises in handloom weaving.
Ti ...
Banaras, HKV Benaras among others.
Geographical indication
Over the years, the Banarasi silk handloom industry has been incurring huge losses because of competition from mechanised units producing the Varanasi silk saris at a faster rate and at cheaper cost, another source of competition has been saris made of cheaper synthetic alternatives to silk.
In 2009, after two years of wait, weaver associations in Uttar Pradesh, secured Geographical Indication
A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...
(GI) rights for the ‘Banaras Brocades and saris’. GI is an intellectual property right, which identifies a good as originating in a certain region where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
As per the GI certificate, Banarasi products fall under four classes (23–26), namely silk brocades, textile goods, silk sari, dress material and silk embroidery. Most importantly this means that no sari or brocade made outside the six identified districts of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, that is Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
, Mirzapur
Mirzapur () is a city in Uttar Pradesh, India, 827 km from Delhi and 733 km from Kolkata, almost 91 km from Prayagraj (formally known as Allahabad) and 61 km from Varanasi. It is known for its carpets and brassware industries, and the folk ...
, Chandauli
Chandauli is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chandauli district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chandauli District.
Geography
Chandauli is located at . It has an average elevation of . It comes ...
, Bhadohi
Bhadohi is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is home to the largest hand-knotted carpet weaving industry hub in South Asia. The city is 45 km west of Varanasi and 82 km east of Allahabad.
Demographics
As of 2011 Indi ...
, Jaunpur and Azamgarh district
Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Etymology
The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...
s, can be legally sold under the name of Banaras sari and brocade.[Banarasi silk sarees get copyright cover]
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
, Binay Singh, TNN 18 September 2009. Prior to this, in July 2007, nine organisations, Banaras Bunkar Samiti, Human Welfare Association (HWA), joint director industries (eastern zone), director of handlooms and textiles Uttar Pradesh Handloom Fabrics Marketing Cooperative Federation, Eastern UP Exporters Association (EUPEA), Banarasi Vastra Udyog Sangh, Banaras Hath Kargha Vikas Samiti and Adarsh Silk Bunkar Sahkari Samiti, had applied to the Chennai-based Geographical Indication Registry of Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
, in a move that was supported by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...
(UNCTAD).
Varieties
There are four main varieties of Banarasi sari, which includes pure silk (Katan), Organza (Kora) with ''Zari
''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make in ...
'' and silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
; Georgette
Georgette is a feminine given name, the French form of (''Geōrgia''), the feminine form of George.
Georgette may refer to:
People
* Georgette Barry (1919–2003), stage name Andrea King, American actress
* Georgette Bauerdorf (1924–1944), Ame ...
, and Shattir, and according to design process, they are divided into categories like, Jangla, Tanchoi, Vaskat, Cutwork
Cutwork or cut work, also known as ''punto tagliato'' in Italian, is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile, typically cotton or linen, are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace.
...
, Tissue and Butidar
Environmental concern
Since a large number of silk dyeing units in the trade use chemical dyes, which cause pollution in the Ganges River
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
, a move is on to shift to natural dye
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources—roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood—and other biological sources such as fungi.
Archaeol ...
s. A research team from the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) used the technique of solvent extraction and enzymatic extraction to develop natural colours from plants, flowers and fruits including accaccia, butea ( palash), madder, marigold and pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punicoideae, that grows between tall.
The pomegranate was originally described throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean re ...
(anar) Now, Benarasi sarees will be made of natural colours
Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
, Anuraag-Singh, 19 November 2007.
Threat to traditional Sari weavers
The increasingly errant and erratic electric power supply, which leads to the electric powered looms sitting idle for greater parts of the day, has made it difficult for the weavers to complete the saris in short time; consequently their earnings are affected. Also, increasing quantities of look-alike Banarasi saris are flooding the market. These saris are mass-produced in China on massive looms and therefore retail at very low prices.
See also
*
Bunkar: The Last of the Varanasi Weavers
*
Silk in the Indian subcontinent
Silk In India, about 97% of the raw mulberry silk is produced in the Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Mysore and North Bangalore, the upcoming site of a US$20 million "Silk City", contribute to a majority ...
*
Zari
''Zari'' (or ''jari'') is an even thread traditionally made of fine gold or silver used in traditional Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani garments, especially as brocade in saris etc. This thread is woven into fabrics, primarily silk, to make in ...
*
Pochampally sari
*
Mysore silk
Karnataka produces 9,000 metric tons of mulberry silk of a total of 20,000 metric tons of mulberry silk produced in the country, thus contributing to nearly 45% of the country's total mulberry silk. In Karnataka, silk is mainly produced in the ...
*
Ilkal sari
Ilkal sari is a traditional form of ''sari'' which is a common feminine wear in India. Ilkal sari takes its name from the town of Ilkal in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka state, India. Ilkal saris are woven using cotton warp on the body ...
*
List of fabrics
Fabrics in this list include fabrics that are woven, braided or knitted from textile fibres.
A
* Aertex
* Alençon lace
* Antique satin
* Argentan lace
* Argentella lace
* Armenian needlelace
B
* Bafta cloth
* Baize
* Ballistic nylon
...
References
Further reading
* ''Banaras brocades'', by Anand Krishna, Vijay Krishna, All India Handicrafts Board. Ed. Ajit Mookerjee. Crafts Museum, 1966.
External links
Banarasi sari and Brocadesat
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
Official website.
Sari/Saree: Banarasi sari– ''
Banglapedia
''Banglapedia:'' ''the'' ''National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh'' is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The f ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banarasi Saris
Economy of Varanasi
Textile arts of India
Culture of Varanasi
Saris
Geographical indications in Uttar Pradesh