PRESENTATION ON SAREES WEST BENGAL ORISSA AND BIHAR

ANIMA SINGH DEEPSHIKHA TOMAR KUMAR VIKASH SHASHANK SHANDILYA

INTRODUCTION
A Saree is a strip of unstiched clothes worn by females, ranging from four to nine yards in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sarre to be wraped around the waist.

Sarees of Bengal
Jamdani sarees Baluchari sarees Kantha sarees Dhaka muslin Shantipuri sarees Tangail sarees

Jamdani saree
Jamdani is an ancient fine muslin cloth with geometric or floral designs. Jamdani came from the persian word jama which means cloth and dana which means buti . Sarees with a great varity of patterns done with geometrical motifs designed on simple or frame looms.

Preparation of sarees
For making yarns weavers needed taku, a bamboo basket, a shell and a stone cup. They used popcorn, rice or barley for starch. Before making jamdani designs they used to dye their yarn and starch it. For dye they used flowers and leaves of creepers. For quality jamdani they used yarn of 200 to 250 counts. For making jamdani two weavers sit side by side at a loom to work on the delicate designs. The designs are made while the fabric is still on the loom. Coarse yarns are used for designs to make the motifs rise above the fabric.

Types of jamdani sarees..

Jamdanis are mostly woven in lightly dyed backgrounds with designs in white, maroon, black, green, gold, silver and in muga silk of a golden colour. There is a key difference in the weaving technique of extra weft designing between jamdanis and tangails" The main peculiarity of the work is the geometric design. Present day they have on their ground designs of rose, jasmine, lotus, bunch of bananas, bunch of ginger and sago. A jamdani with small flowers diapered on the fabric is known as butidar. If these flowers are arranged in reclined position it is called tersa jamdani .

 If designs with peacocks and leaves of creepers cover the entire field of the sari it is called jalar naksha.If the field is covered with rows of flowers it is known as fulwar jamdani. Duria jamdani has designs of spots all over. Belwari jamdani with colorful golden borders used to be made during the Mughal period.

Baluchari saree
The most well-known Bengal Silk sari, which carry its legendary name, is the Baluchari sari - a product of exquisite design and fabulous weaving technique. Produced in the town of Baluchar in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, Baluchari sarees are nation and world wide popular because of their artistic and unique design

 Baluchar saree is famous for its shear weight and the richness of its untwisted silk. The specialty of the Baluchar saris is the large Pallu with a central pattern of flowing Kalgas, the mango design enclosed by repetitive frames of miniatures. . The sari borders were narrow with floral and foliage motifs and the fall of the sari was covered with small paisley and other floral designs in undemonstrated but bright colour schemes

Motifs used on sarees

The unique features of baluchar saris is the combination of animal and bird motifs incorporated in floral and paisley decorations while other motifs included hunters on horses, elephants and scenes from the nawabs court

Kantha sarees
Kantha is still the most popular form of embroidery practised by rural women. The traditional form of Kantha embroidery was done with soft dhotis and saris, with a simple running stitch along the edges. Depending on the use of the finished product they were known as Lepkantha or Sujni Kantha

 In the best examples, the entire cloth is covered with running stitches, employing beautiful motifs of flowers, animals birds and geometrical shapes, as well as themes from everyday activities. The stitching on the cloth gives it a slight wrinkled, wavy effect. Contemporary Kantha is applied to a wider range of garments such as sarees, dupatta, shirts . mostly using cotton and silk.

DAKKA MUSLIN
The Ganga delta, most of which is in bangladesh, is the indigenous home of the dakka muslin sari, which was the finest of all Bengali muslins. These muslins had poetic names that were also given to the finer silks and brocades of the period : abrawan (flowing water) , baftbana (woven air), shab- nam (evening dew), and malmal khas (kings muslin, which refer to the transparency of the fabric.

 The finest sort of Muslin was made of phuti cotton, grown in certain localities on the banks of the Brahmaputra and its branches. The finest sort of Muslin was called Malmal.

 It was costly, and the weavers spent a long time, sometimes six months, to make a piece of this sort. It was used by emperors, nawabs . Places of manufacturing muslin were Dhaka, Sonargaon,Dhamrai, Teetbady, Junglebary and Bajitpur.

TANGAIL SAREE
Tangail saree got its name from the place of its origin, Tangail, where it was traditionally woven. The Tangail is said to be the most successful hybrid of the Jamdani and Shantipuri sarees. Tangails are woven even in silk wrap and cotton weft, and even in pure silk.

 The boarder is either plain or is done with extra weft patterning in the ground .

TANGAIL SAREES

SHANTIPURI SAREE
The traditional Shantipuri saree wore by the upper-middle-class Bengali ladies. The Shantipuri sarees were woven on throwshuttle pitloom. A needle called chiyu is used to lift the pattern. The borders on the saris of Shantipuri could be either dyed cotton-silk or art-silk or viscose yarns or gold and silver zaris.

 The background of the saris has fine and delicate checks, stripes, or a texture created by coloured threads or a combination of fine and thicker yarn.

SANTIPURI SAREES

THE SAREES OF ORISSA

Orrissa is a beautiful state, well irrigated by rivers its landscape rising up from the temple towns of the coast through the eastern ghats with their thick forests, to the deccan plateau.. Influence on textile art is seen through the presence of motifs such as the temple borders, lotus, conches and wheels, that signify the affinity with the reigning deity or goddess.

Orissa's western hills consist of Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Balangir,Kalahandi and Phulbani districts, with Sambalpur and Balangir being the primary handloom-weaving areas, especially in such towns as Sambalpur, Sonepur, Bargarh, Butapali and Barpali. The sarees from this area ar often called 'Sambalpur saris', as many of the major weavers' cooperatives are in this district. Traditional handloom saris are woven in heavy, lowcount cotton and tasar silk, for both tribal and Hindu rural groups Since the mid-1970s

TYPES OF SAREES IN ORRISA

The state of Orissa makes 4 distinct types of sarees. 1. BOMKAI SAREE 2. SAMBALPURI SAREES 3. BEHRAMPURI SILK SAREES 4. PASAPALLI SAREES 1. THE BOMKAI SAREE: The bomkai saree is a recent adaptation from tribal sarees and is named after a tribal village in southern Orissa. It has an embroidery-like work onthe border and pallo (the broad band at the end).the work is very intricate.

2.SAMBALPURI SAREES: Sambhalpuri sarees, with their richly woven borders and pallus are among the most popular Odissi sarees. is a traditional handwoven Ikkat saree (locally called shadhi) where in the warp and the weft are tie-dyed before weaving. It is produced in the Bargarh, Sonepur, Sambalpur and nearby districts of Orissa. The saree is a traditional female garment in the Indian Subcontinent consisting of a strip of unstitched cloth ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The below are examples of the Bandha or tie-and-dye or double ikat from Sambhalpur and is one of the several variations of Sambhalpuris

3.BEHRAMPURI SILK SAREES:

The third type is the Behrampuri silk, which are usually heavy, with narrow borders, that are slightly plain, without the intricate designs generally found on the Sambhalpuri sarees,the Khandua pata,which is cheaper than the Sambhalpuri because the yarn used is less expensive.

4.PASAPALLI SAREES:

with its distinctive black-and-white squares is a replica of the chessboard. Equally fascinating are the namesVichitrapuri, Chandrika, Nabagunja, Asman Tara and Krishnapriya. The earlier yarns of coarse cotton have been replaced with fine cotton, silks, tussar and a cotton-silk mix called bapta. Gold thread and tissues are also used to enhance the patterns.Among Vichitrapuri, Chandrika, Nabagunja, Asman Tara and Krishnapriya, VICHITRAPURI SAREE is most famous.

VICHITRAPURI SAREES:

This is Pasapalli saree with its distinctive maroon and white small squares on a alternate of black and maroon big squares is a replica of a chess board .Its having double borders which are hand woven silk thread works with motifs and traditional border which makes the saree beautiful.The uniqueness in this saree is that its having a traditional border in middle which makes the saree look royal. This saree is named as "Bichitrapuri Saree".This is maroon black combination but u can customize any color of choice. The Aanchal or Pallu (falling edge of the saree) of the saree with traditional motifs , like Shankha (Shell), Chakra(Wheel), phulla (flower), animals with deep symbolism, but the highpoint of these sarees is traditional craftsmanship of the 'Bandhakala', reflected in their intricate weaves.

The bichchitrapuri sari

The Bomkai saree

MOTIFS
Motifs are regarded as highly auspicious, and were used in the older, nineteenthcentury khandua, which were worn as a wedding veil over the sari. Today, the range of motifs found within the field of the coastal plains saris is much wider than in the past, and repeated ,designs based on stars (tara), lotus flowers, vines, and auspicious animals such as the elephant and peacock (maira) are common.
THE LOTUS THE RUDRAKSHA. THE MATSYA OR FISH THE TORTOISE THE COILED SERPENT THE PEACOCK. THE BICHITRAPURI ANCHAL THE ELEPHANT THE DHARMA-CHAKRA

COLOURS
It must be noted that the color and design palette for mens dressing is conservative while women dress in any and every possible color, design and pattern. The only exceptions are white, black and red. White signifies death and is necessarily worn in mourning. Red is auspicious and is necessarily worn by the bride. Black is inauspicious and is not a good colour to wear at weddings or festive celebrations. These colors lead to strong associations and are part of a bundle of nonverbal communication but these may be worn on other occasions without any meaning. An Odissi saree cannot hope to blend quietly into the background! Most handloom Odissi sarees contains bright and strong colours. Vegetable dyes have been replaced by chemical dyes, though the former is still available, but the prices are significantly higher. SPECIAL ELEMEMTS OF ODISSI SAREES: 1. THE DHOOP-CHAON EFFECT: In silks, a stunning impact is created when the colours of the weft and warp are different. The shadowlight effect is amazing and is not easy to capture on a camera. Movement or difference in field of depth shows this effect off perfectly.

2. THE BORDER This is a special element of all sarees. It takes on representations from the culture of the place that creates it. The sarees from Orissa have a border which shows the silhouettes of these temples seen as simple mountain peaks. Sea shells or wheels are another major characteristic of borders in Oriya sarees.

3. BUTTIS These are small little elements that may be present all over the saree in some form of symmetry. They may populate the saree sparsely or densely and the more work there is on the saree, the heavier it gets not only in real weight terms but in price perceptions as well. These are minor elements and cannot on their own create magic. They can only support the overall design through a splattering of colour or consonant design elements. These two pictures show details of the buttis which are present all over the saree. In sarees from other states, this element plays a major role, but in Oriya sarees, they are generally very sparse and small.

4. EMBROIDERY

The actual embroidery work may be done using zari which is golden thread (not gold just golden) or silk thread. The presence of golden thread or zari work makes a sari very heavy figuratively and the use of such heavy sarees is warranted only at weddings of families and close friends. On all the silk examples above, the threadwork is resham or silk threa

5. PALLO This is the loose end of the sari that flows freely and is usually its most attractive part. The pallaa or paalav or pallo may have contrasting colors or designs and stands out from the rest of the sari. This part may be up to a meters long. It is also the portion used as a partial veil in a temple or as a mark of respect among elders in traditionally conservative societies in the northern belts. The pallo of the Odissi saree is always arranged in horizontal lines with motifs filling up the space in between. Lines alternating with a variety of motifs seems to be the signature of the classic Odissi textile.

MATERIALS
COTTON Odissi cottons are thick with a high thread count as well as thicker yarn and are available in varying degrees of fineness. Cottons are usually starched stiff for maximum effect prior to draping. Odissi sarees are available in the 5 yard format as well as the dupatta format which is 2.25 metre. SILK Tussar silk originated from Orissa and is one of the lighter, more delicate and stiffer silks available. The best known saris of this area are the mulberry silk and tasar silk ikats that were once woven for local royal courts, as well as for donation to temples and for wedding. Today such saris are still created for temple donations and weddings, but most are now woven for India's urban middle classes, their bright colouring being a popular feature .

SAREES OF BIHAR
In bihar ,embroidered and appliqued textiles are known to have been created since at lest the 17th century and embroidered wedding saris are traditionally worn by high caste brides Producers are Bhagalpur, Hazaribagh , Ranchi, Begusarai etc. Gota sarisMade of red silk Before cotton was used upon which zari was done.

Gota saree

 Tussar silk saris of Bihar

Two types of tasar saris are woven today namely plain tasar and mixed tasar cotton. Plain tasar saris made from reeled threads are popular throughout India. Also called sania,they were traditionally worn by brahmin and other orthodox hindu women when cooking and eating meals. Local saris made from mixed tasar cotton fabric are still being created ,although they usually reverse the tasar warp ,cotton weft structure recorded by Buchanan. Many of these modern saris also use ikat dyed cotton warp borders imported from Orissa .

VARIOUS TUSSAR SILK SARIS:

MATARIA SALAMKHANIA KIRKIRI TABIJA MORKANTHI NAURANJI GANDHAKI SURAJMUKHI FARMAISHI