Shades of spring and summer meet in the ethereal Chanderi and Maheshwari saris, on display at Mrignayanee’s ‘Sari Mela’. Apart from defining the textile wealth of Madhya Pradesh, each sari also unfolds a slice of history.
The original weavers of Chanderi saris migrated to MP from Dhaka in the 17th century, creating in their new home saris, which not only rivalled the fabled Dhaka muslin but could also pass through the proverbial ring!
Maheshwari saris also go back to the 17th century when Rani Ahilyabai Holkar settled weavers from Surat in Maheshwar to weave turbans and saris with special borders for royalty. Maheshwaris come in every colour of the rainbow but the traditional green sari for the ‘departing bride’ and ‘dalimbi’ or checked pomegranate pink sari are still the favourites.
The past two decades have seen many innovations in colour, embellishments and motifs of these saris. They, along with the tussar Kosa saris, are block printed by bagh and dabu mud-resist artisans.
State awardee Mohammed Bilal Khatri, bagh hand block printer, explains how the imprints are created.“Creating a bagh sari is a long journey. It begins with removing the starch from the sari by soaking it in water mixed with castor oil, ‘sanchura’ and goat dung for 48 hours. Once dry the sari is again soaked in ‘harda’ powder mixed water and then dried. The sari is now ready for printing. The colours are all from Nature. The drying saris are sprinkled with water every 3-4 hours in a process akin to natural bleaching. It is finally dyed in the different natural dye colours prepared by us.”
The ‘Sari Mela’ is on at Mrignayanee, 1 A TNHB Comple, 180 Luz Church Road, Mylapore, till June 15.
