[Assam] The Ten Most Beautiful Indian Textiles

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The Ten Most Beautiful Indian Textiles

*[image: In this article the writer gives ten tips on the most beautiful
Indian textiles]chillibreeze writer — *Usha
Balagopal<http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/The-ten-most-beautiful-Indian-textiles.asp#a>

India has a wide range of textiles of varied designs and manufactured by
different techniques when compared to other countries of the world. The
specialty in the weave of the textiles in each region is developed based on
location, climate and cultural influences. The rich and beautiful products
of the Indian weavers have been rightly called, "exquisite poetry in
colorful fabrics". Ten of the most beautiful textiles of India have been
chosen keeping in mind the uniqueness in the weave, texture and quality.
1. KHADI

At a time when speed and precision have been the hallmark of production
technology, the wholly hand spun, hand woven and hand printed khadi cloth
epitomizes a product of ultimate uniqueness and luxury. Hand-spun yarn is
used in making khadi and this activity is mainly carried out in the rural
areas of India. The handlooms producing khadi weave the cotton in such a way
that the interlacing of threads provides the maximum passage of air. It is
thus cool and absorbent when worn in the scorching summer and surprisingly
suitable in winter too. Today khadi is neither the metaphor nor choice for
clothing of India's poor as envisioned by the 'father of the nation',
Mahatma Gandhi. The handcrafted khadi is definitely a material of excellence
that distinguished, and will do so always, Indian cottons throughout the
world. Khadi cotton and silk textiles are some of the most expensive fabrics
today and definitely one of the most beautiful textiles of India.
2. MUGA SILK OF ASSAM

Another beautiful but lesser known textile of India is from Assam, a state
in the northeast of India. This textile is not only sensuous and beautiful
but also durable and strong. Muga silk is used in sarees and traditional
Assamese attire, 'mekhla chaddar'. Assam's golden silk is from a
caterpillar, Antheraea assama. As many as 28000 families are known to be
associated with the culture of muga silk in the state. Designs on the silk
are inspired from nature and familiar objects. The influence of architecture
is evident too. Even the stone carvings from the Madan Kamdev Temple have
been incorporated in the weave. Muga silk is available all over India, but
much more needs to be done to promote the production of this beautiful
Indian textile.
3. COTTON TEXTILE OF MANIPUR.

Manipur is famous for its special fabrics like moiraingphee, lasingphee and
phanek. Tribal textile is woven on a loin-loom type of back-strap loom
commonly used by hill people, Weaving is universal and every girl knows how
to weave. The loom forms part of her dowry. Weaving by women is for personal
use, while men do organized commercial weaving. The traditional dress of the
women here is 'phanec', which is a colourful striped wrap-around and an
'innaphi' that covers the upper part of the body. From a thick hand spun
fabric that was essentially for personal use it is now a fine muslin textile
combining both beauty and simplicity in its wrap and weft. The extraordinary
flora and fauna of this state has inspired the textile motif. This is truly
one of the best textiles of India.
4. WOOL FROM KASHMIR.

India has never been an important producer of woolen textiles but the superb
shawls of Kashmir, incorporating true works of art and the craftsman's
nimble skill, make it one of the most beautiful textiles of India. The
Kashmir shawls are pre-Mughal in origin and design. Apart from Kashmir, high
quality shawls are made in Amritsar and Ludhiana. Woolen fabric for dresses
and drapery are also woven. The 'Pashmina' shawl of Kashmir popularly known
as the 'ring shawl' is so exquisite and fine that it can be passed through a
mans signet ring. This fabric is made from 'pashm' that is the wool of
'Capra hircus', a species of the wild Asian mountain goat. The state also
produces brocaded woolen fabric.
5. DORIA OF KOTA [Rajasthan]

The KOTA DORIA is one of the best textiles of India. It has undergone
various changes in texture over the years and is the name given to saris
woven at Kaithoon. Kota doria uses two types of yarn, a thick one of 80
counts and a fine one of 20 counts. At times silk is added with the cotton
yarn and there is also pure silk. The Kota doria has some special features.
The yarn used is the very best. It is given further resilience by polishing
it with starch and 'kanji', something not done anywhere else.
6. TIE AND DYE FABRICS

India has many varieties of tie and dye fabrics. This form involves a good
mastery over dyeing. The use of resist or barriers to protect certain
portions of the fabric from the dye is a way of enabling several colors to
be used on the same textile. There are several resistance techniques and the
most popular is the 'tie and dye' technique. Its uniqueness places it
rightfully as one of the ten best textiles of India. In Rajasthan the dyeing
of fabrics has been an important craft. Chunari, lahariya mothra and
bandhani are the various forms. Textile dyeing has been fashioned here in
conformity with social beliefs and traditions. Bandej work is done all over
Rajasthan but Shekhawat bandej is the finest. Among the common names in
bandej are doongarshahi [hill shaped], kat-ka-lahariya [single striped] and
ladoo- jalebi [a big circle in the center and a small circle on every side]
and so on. Another special feature of Jaipur is dyeing two sides of a cloth
in different colors.
7. IKAT FABRICS

Indian textile prowess throughout the world, from ancient times to present,
has rested largely on India's unrivalled skills in dying and weaving.
Textiles dyed and woven in ikat technique are very popular. These include
the satin weave of South India, the double-ikat silk patola of Gujarat, and
simple cotton saris from Orissa and Tamil Nadu. This is also a resist dyeing
technique. Here the resist is applied not to the woven fabric but to the
yarns. Gujarat is the heartland of ikat because of its being the source of
the 'patola'-the Indian ikat par excellence. The simpler ikats of the Deccan
and South India are popular too.
8. BANARASI BROCADE

India's fabric of dreams is the Banarasi brocade known as 'Kinkhab'. It is
an interweaving of colored silk and gold threads to form the most attractive
floral designs. The brocades are without doubt India's most gorgeous and
most fascinating silken fabrics. An extra weft of gold thread runs across
the warp with motifs picked up in silk threads. Another variety has warp and
weft of gold thread with patterns. Some brocade has the background material
woven in silver zari and the patterns in gold thread material woven in
silver thread. It is said that when Lord Buddha attained Nirvana his mortal
remains were wrapped in Banaras brocade.
9. SOUTH INDIAN SILK

South Indian silk, mainly made into sarees, is unique in texture and design.
It is commonly styled into 'kornad' sarees, which originated in Kornad or
Tanjore in Tamil Nadu. The best come from Dharmavaram and Arni in A.P,
Kanchipuram in T.N and Kollegal in Mysore. These sarees are woven with the
finest of silk; the designs are traditionally Indian with special stress on
borders and pallavs. The kanchipuram have contrasting border and pallav
woven with a variety of zari motifs such as 'rudraksham', 'malli mogu',
'gopuram' etc. Andhra Pradesh is famous for the 'pochampally' silk sarees
with geometrical designs.
10. MUSLIN WEAVES OF BENGAL

The muslin weaves of Bengal enjoyed a unique place and undisputable
supremacy in the world market for centuries. Bengal handloom industry always
reigned supreme for cotton textiles. Muslin is a finely woven gauze-like
cotton fabric, named 'woven air' because of its delicate quality. The
wonderful hand woven muslin of Dacca is a thing of the past. But the weavers
who have migrated to India practice the same style in West Bengal. Different
colored threads are intricately woven, with several needles, on unbleached
cotton. Today muslin is produced in Varanasi, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Madurai.
Embroidered muslin of Uttar Pradesh, printed muslin of Tirchirapalli in
Tamil Nadu, flowered muslin of Gujarat and the beautiful jamdani are all
very popular. This fine fabric also finds its place as one of the ten best
textiles of India.

In India, fabrics and garments have been an integral part of life. They are
reminiscent not only of the beauty of the past, but also a catalyst to
future entrepreneurs. Indian craftsmen are constantly being reminded and
encouraged to move with the times and bring innovations to their designs.
The world's leading couturiers have fashioned India's timeless fabrics into
garments that mesmerize the world with their beauty and splendor.

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*—About our writer: *

Usha writes for chillibreeze.




-- 
Babul Gogoi
011-29817150 / 9868182079
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