NAME: Arefin Rahman Saad

ID: 2013514030

North South University

Department of History and Philosophy

Course Title: Bangladesh: History and Culture

Course Code: HIS 101

Semester: Summer 2021

Course teacher: Professor Dr. Masood Imran

Office: NAC 1155

Email: [Link]@[Link]
Introduction:
"Muslin" (also known as mulmul in Bangladesh) the name itself is pretty courteous and often
heard from our Mother and Grandmother. It has a significant cultural aspect for our previous
generation, but it doesn't carry that much of an attraction for us. Its glory is degrading day by
day. Muslin was the name of a mythical cotton textile suited for emperors that used to be
manufactured in the past. Muslin from Dhaka was the best, and it has been exported to all parts
of the globe. (Islam, 2016)
The derivation of Muslin is unknown; some claim that the word was taken from Mosul, a
shipping trade city in Iraq, and some assume that Muslin was associated with Musulipattam, the
headquarters of European business entities in southern India (Muslin, 2021). The material itself
is very soft and quite transparent. Many artists and literate talked about its goodness in their
work. A Portuguese traveler described various types of Muslin , such as mamona, sinabaka,
estrabante.
The Production:
DHAKAI MUSLINs production was challenging from start to finish. The cotton used to be
produced from a plant commonly known as "phuti
karpas," they used to grow the plant along the banks
of the Meghna and Shitalakshya rivers. Because not
only should the outside atmosphere be cold and
modest for growing this plant, but also for weaving.
This thread was knitted in humid surroundings,
generally in times of dawn and dusk, exclusively by
young women who have more flexible fingers.
They were meticulously chosen and sun-dried before
being placed in a clay pot ,where they used to keep
'ghee'. Then its head was closed airtight, and it was
hung from the ceiling at the height of an ordinary
person over the cooking fire to keep it warm.
Popularity:
The Muslin got its popularity very fast because of its
fineness. Western consumers found it difficult to
comprehend that Muslin could have been created by
humans. There were tales that it was spun by fairies,
mermaids, and even spirits. Some claimed that it was
done underneath the water surface. "The delicacy, the
smoothness - it was like nothing we have now," recalls Ruby Ghaznavi, vice president of the
Bangladesh National Craft Council (Gorvett, 2021).
People from all over the world fell in love with Muslin. The weavers spent months after months
to make the finest ones, and those are the ones the royals used to wear. The Mughal emperor and
the royal families all over the globe displayed the magnificence of their imperial lifestyle by
carrying it on. The Roman woman loved the sheerness as it featured their physic well. Also, it
became that worthy that the Greek people used to put it on their Goddess because of its price and
elegance. Muslin was the most expensive fabric at that time, and that's why the upper-class
people could have afforded it only. But it lost its glory too soon in Europe as the production
vanished away.
How it stopped:
Muslin was the legendary cotton cloth of all time. And the finest Muslin used to find at the Bank
of Brahmaputra River and its Branches. The Dhaka muslin was world-famous because of its
quality, and local skilled workers used to yarn this cloth with their bare hands. This muslin
industry of Dhaka attracted the world's textile industry and made Bengal famous. As it was
during British time, the British wanted to sell their own cotton cloths. So that is why in 1772,
they made an order where the thumbs were cut off if anyone used to yarn Dhaka muslin. The
British used to cut off the thumbs of the weavers, and a; as a result, the Muslin started to
disappear from Bengal. Also, with this, the plant "Phuti Karpas" went extinct. Due to famine, the
fertile land of Bengal has washed away, and also the weavers and the spinners changed their
occupation. And started making “jamdani muslin”.
Cultural Shift:
The argument I came across while researching on Muslim cloth that Bengalis are losing its
culture, the reason why I am saying this is because Muslin sarees used to be bangle’s pride, but
now a days we are seeing people wearing more t-shirt, shirt, denim, tops and shorts rather than
sarees. The Modern era is all about what the celebrities or the high-profiled individuals wear,
especially the young people they follow those famous celebrities so much that our culture is
almost at stake. Technological advancement made the world so small that everything seems like
on the one hand.
The innovation of Television and the actress created a huge shift to our ethnic fashion. Where the
miniskirt was the western fashion, many Bengalis from the upper classes wore sleeveless blouses
with chiffon Sarees and body hugging salwar and Kurta. The traditional draping method for
wearing a saree had shifted from right to left (Chowdhury, 2017).
And the rapid changes took place
from the early 20s'. The globe was
merging to become one entity
around the turn of the millennium
due to the Internet and the advent of
social media. The 2000s saw a
significant increase in consumption, with Bangladeshis embracing a more western appearance.
The primary fashion pieces for the ordinary lady were jeans, trousers, tops, and blouses, while
sarees became festive attire (Chowdhury, 2017).
Emerging of Foreign Brands, there are so many foreign brands available in Bangladesh. Since
Bangladesh is doing well in the RMG sector and most of the production occurs in our country,
it's more accessible to get them in hand. Forever 21, Zara, H&M are everywhere. The high-
priced international brands are now the daily use of the
upper-class people in our country because of their
availability. The local brands who are working for our own
heritage and own cotton-made products are not doing that
well in the market except a few, e.g., Aarong. Their
promotions and marketing strategies are not that eye-
catching. A Muslin Zamdani Saree takes months to be
made, and the price of a good and exclusive one is
exceptionally high. And the availability of these exclusive
items are hard to find. The starting price of a Muslin
zamdani is around BDT 15000 and it reaches upto lakhs,
which is definitely expensive to many people, whether an
Indian silk saree costs around BDT 2000 more or less.
The most important factor of this change is convenience.
Nowadays everyone wants to wear something comfortable,
weather friendly and which is easy to carry. If we talk
about saree, draping a saree is not easy, and carrying it
elegantly is quite a hassle. Not only that, but also it takes
longer than usual to wear a saree. And for many people, it is not comfortable as they are not used
to it. This generation is very outgoing, so wearing something that is not comfortable is a big No.
How can We Bring Back the lost Culture
There are few things we can do to bring back the lost culture:
The Bangladeshi people still believe in a typical education system. Most of the parents don't let
their child to pursue their career as a designer. Which is changing nowadays, but it needs to be
gone completely. This concept needs to be changed and govt. needs to highlight remove this
taboo. Apparel manufacturing or textile engineering as higher study to communicate is the best
way to carry out culture. There are 2-3 Universities that actually teach fashion designing. There
are many designers who don't have proper study about Fashion Designing but doing really well
in the market; they are the ones who need to be trained properly so that they can create a change.
Phuti Karpas, that created the one-of-a-kind Muslin cotton. This specific species has been gone
for over a [Link] the researchers can obtain authentic specimens, they will be able to
determine the plant's genetic profile. It will expose the DNA of the plants providing them with
the required baseline for future research. Luckily this research has been done and scientist has
become successful for cracking the generic code and bring hundred-year-old plant back to live,
with the help of the modern science, Bangladesh is again harvesting Phuti karps and started to
make and sale muslin cloth once again.

Designers should learn and focus more on our history, and they should represent it in their work .
The weavers who are still in that profession should treat and paid properly with high respect and
they should get more focus and attention globally otherwise their future generation will not
continue this profession.
Govt. should create more opportunities for our Designers that they can travel around the globe
and participate in international workshops, fashion shows, exhibitions, and cultural exchange
programs; this will encourage them to create something exceptional and trendy by using our own
sophisticated fabric, embellishment, print, etc. (Natasha)

All the old trends are coming back, but with a hint of change, the designers need to follow this
and create something by following, which will create attraction and a perfect balance between
trend and culture.
Since there are not many websites, books, and documentaries about our culture and how it
changed and is losing day by day. They need to gather information by visiting those places to
inspire themselves.
Conclusion:
Our culture and heritage are mesmerizing, and we have to hold it; otherwise, it will be lost, and
our future generation will forget their roots and not even get the hint of it. It should be our
responsibility as citizens to protect it and pass it on to our future generation.
Globalization is not just about adapting another ultimately; it's also about developing yourself
and operate on an international scale. Globalization can’t be the cause of losing our heritage. We
need to understand it and preserve it.

References
Chowdhury, M. M. (2017, February 4). Retrieved from The Daily Star:
[Link]

Gorvett, Z. (2021, March 17). Retrieved from BBC: [Link]

Islam, K. (2016, May/June). Our Story of Dhaka Muslin. Retrieved from

Muslin. (2021, June 18). Retrieved from Banglapedia: [Link]

Natasha, R. Y. (n.d.). Influence of World's Fashion on Bangladeshi Fashion Trends from the 1950s to 2018
. 6 of 7.