Textiles of India

North India

The beautiful valley of Kashmir is known for its shawls - pashmina and shahtoosh (the latter now banned). Pashmina weaving began some 400 years ago and was earlier considered the choice fabric of royalty. The pashmina wool comes from changthangi or pashmina goat which is indigenous to the high Himalayas. These shawls are hand spun, woven and embroidered in Kashmir.

Jammu, in the foothills, has a textile tradition much in common with that of neighbouring Punjab and Haryana. The most notable textile of Jammu is the block-printed calicoes of Samba.

Weaving of durries (floor spreads) in myriad motifs and designs especially by young girls in the villages has been a long-standing tradition in Punjab.

The holy Ganges dominates the state of Uttar Pradesh and so does its tradition of silk. Varanasi region is the traditional weaving centre of Banarasi Brocades. It is an interweaving of coloured silk and gold threads to form the most attractive floral designs. The brocades are without doubt India’s most fascinating silken fabrics. While Madanpura village is known for its highly sophisticated designs, shades of colours and effective use of gold and silver zari, the silk of Alaipura village is considered coarser and is mainly used for furnishing. 

West and Central India

The prosperous state of Gujarat and the princely land of Rajasthan have long been famous for the cultivation of cotton and for the early use of dyes. The textiles in the region have a fascinating range of dyed and block printed fabrics.

Block printing comprises pasting of carved wooden blocks soaked in different colours (also vegetable dyes) on the fabric. In this hand block printing, the design is first drawn on wood using a sharp needle and then the desired design is carved using the chisel, hammer, file and nails. The printing involves laying the fabric, which is to be printed, on flat tables and impressions are made using the carved blocks. The most important centres for block printing are Sanganer, Jaipur, Bagru and Barmer in Rajasthan, and Anjar, Deesa, Ahmedabad, Jetpur, Rajkot, Porbandar and Bhavnagar in Gujarat.

Tie-and-dye work, in which cloth is tied, either with string or rubber bands into some sort of pattern, is also well-known here. This involves the use of resist or barriers to protect certain portions of the fabric from the dye, thereby enabling several colours to be used on the same fabric. Some of the well-known styles of tie-and-dye works are bandhani, lehria, mashru and patan patola.

The other important weaving centres are Paithan and Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Maheshwar and Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh.

Gujarat is also known for its ikkat weaving prevalent in the Sayla and Patan areas.

The durrie, a simple rug that was once used as an underlay, has now become one of Rajasthan’s weaving traditions. Weavers sit on looms in villages, creating an interesting blend of patterns in an exciting combination of colours. Made from cotton yarn in areas such as Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, woollen durries made from camel hair are also available. 

East India

Silks of Bengal are acclaimed the world over. The best-known Bengal silk, which carries its legendary name, is the Baluchari sari - a product of exquisite design, and fabulous weaving technique.

Bihar is the largest producer of tassar silk in India, Bhagalpur being the home of tassar weaving.

Assam is home to several types of handloom silks, the most prominent and prestigious being muga, the golden silk exclusive only to this state and the finest of India’s wild silks. The loom is a prized possession in every Assamese home and weaving has forever been a way of life in the region.

Unlike other parts of India, where much of the spinning and weaving is done by of men, in Nagaland it is the exclusive monopoly of women. Weaving specimens from Nagaland comprise a wide range of wrappers and shawls, waist cloths and bodice, girdles, scarves and skirts resplendent with skilful colour combinations. 

The state of Manipur is known for its cotton and silk weaving while Orissa is known for its ikkat textile. 

South India

South India was relatively untouched by the invasions that affected the cultural fabric of the North and hence has over the centuries retained its many ancient traditions of textile. South Indian silk, mainly made into saris, is one of the finest; the designs are traditionally Indian with special stress on borders and pallu (end piece). The silk produced here is said to have the capacity to endure strenuous washing on a granite stone! The towns of Kanchipuram, Kumbakonam and Tanjore are major centres of silk weaving. The natural silk mainly comes from the Bangalore area (which has ideal conditions for rearing mulberry silk worms) and the zari (gold or silver wrapped thread) from Surat in Gujarat.

Cotton weaving is widespread in Kanchipuram, Coimbatore, Salem, Pudukkotai, Madurai and Karur. The artists in Andhra Pradesh produce the beautiful kalamkari textile which derives its name from kalam meaning pen, and kari meaning work. In the 18th century there was kalamkari trade between Europe and India; the designs were known as cheeti, a word from which the European chintz was derived. Andhra Pradesh is also known for the Pochampalli silk saris with geometrical designs.

‘Bleeding Madras’ shirts of Chennai, made of hand-spun yarn woven in India became popular in the West in the 1960s. Dyes that were not colourfast were used, resulting in bleeding and fading colours that gave the fabric a new, personalised look each time it was laundered. 

Traditional Indian Embroidery

Embroidery which is essentially meant to strengthen and decorate the fabric has always been an integral part of the household tradition in various parts of India.

The Kutch and Saurashtra region, which has a large population of pastoralists, is the richest source of folk embroidery in the world. Dress materials, wall hangings, quilts and animal trappings are embroidered, appliqued, decorated with beadwork and embellished with mirrors, sequins, buttons and shells. Each tribe passes on unchanged from generation to generation its own distinct designs, colours and range of stitches.

Phulkari, meaning flower work, is a spectacular style of embroidery peculiar to Punjab. Phulkari has its origins in the early 19th century when the women’s head cloth was highlighted with embroidered flowers. Over the years this embroidery became heavy and complex and the heavily embroidered head cloth came to be known as bagh (literally garden). In this style the embroidery covered every inch of the fabric making it completely invisible. In Punjab almost every ceremony is given a touch of additional colour and richness by the use of Phulkari on account of it being considered auspicious.

Lucknow’s chikankari is delicate, fine embroidery done in white cotton threads on plain muslin cloth. This embroidery was introduced from the state of Bengal into Lucknow, which is still the chief centre of its production. Lucknow’s zardozi and kamdani hand embroideries with gold and silver thread are also appreciated far and wide.

Kantha is the most popular form of embroidery practised by rural women in West Bengal. Kantha originated from the way in which Bengali housewives mended old clothes by taking out a strand of thread from the colourful border of their saris and making simple designs with them.

Appliqué is a decoration or trimming made of one material attached by sewing or gluing to another. This art is widely prevalent in the Eastern coast of Orissa. Applique work of Orissa comprises special canopies, fans, umbrellas and other decorative items.

The kasuti embroidery of Karnataka is a stylized form with stitches based on the texture of the fabric.

The Toda tribal women living in the Nilgiri Mountains wear a toga like garment which is embroidered with exquisite patterns.