Saree , a grace of women had came into existence around 1800 BC at the time of Indus valley civilization . But at that time it was very different from today’s saree it was a drape at that time which was used to cover the body. With each evolution in history the evolution of saree had also taken place. From ancient times sarees are well known for women’s grace and reflection of their elegance. Whether we reflect on our epic like Mahabharata and Ramayana or our great dynasties like Mughal Empire ,sarees are used everywhere to flourish women’s beauty.
The most amazing attire of saree which every women appreciate is that there is no need of stitching and there is no size issue . This outfit is fit for every women.
There are even scientific reason behind wearing a saree as it believes that it help to prevent us from negative energy.
It mainly prevail in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.
But it is most famous in India every state of India have a different sarees styles and different patterns example Benarasi saree of Uttar Pradesh, kankanjeevaram of Tamil Nadu , kasavu of kerela, Paithani of Maharashtra, Bandhini of Gujarat etc.
Gujarat state is well known for his elegance sarees, it’s patterns of design, it’s fabric, and it’s rich culture and heritage. The main embroidery that prevails in Gujarat is Banni & Heer and is done by Lohana community with silk floss. Kutch embroidery which were done by kutch tribal community by using silk and cotton thread. Zari of surat is consider as one of the pride of India. The most famous sarees of Gujarat include Patola sarees which are found in patan and Rajkot. Bandhavi sarees are found in bhuj and Mandhvi. Bhujodi sarees of Gujarat were woven by Vankars from kala cotton of kutch .
Patola saree: Patola saree is mainly found in Patan city of Gujarat. It indicates the hard work and dedication of weavers. This saree mainly involves dying and tieing process. There is a very less use of powerloom in this saree. It mainly involves weaving by the hands of weavers. It takes hard work of around six weavers for weaving a single saree. It needs a lot of perfection while weaving because even if the single thread displace the whole pattern will ruin. It is a double Ikat saree means we cannot differentiate between it’s look, colour, texture, pattern, intensity once it woven. This is one of the expensive saree and mainly wore by aristocrats. It is mainly found in Patan, Surat and Ahmedabad of Gujarat. Patola saree is of two types:1) Rajkot Patola : It is a single Ikat which is manufactured from silk in Rajkot. Zari work which is one of the most famous work of Gujarat you will find on this saree. 2) Patan Patola: It is double Ikat which is done by around six weavers with perfection.
Bhujodi Saree:Bhujodi is few Km away from bhuj and it is one of the main textile center and having a majority of communities like Vankars, Ahirs. The Vankars are usually involved in weaving of cloth like shawls. Ahirs are mainly involved in growing organic cotton also known as kala cotton. Rabari community provide them with wool. Bhujodi saree is the new product of this community which is same as Shawl. Each Bhujodi saree can be made by single weaver. So the design and patterns of every saree is different. Even Dupattas, carpets, stoles and shawls are considered as top products of Bhujodi. You will find the products of Bhujodi as colorful because Rabaris community have a love towards flamboyancy. There are many types of Bhujodi saree – Pink Bhujodi, Indigo Bhujodi etc. Pink Bhujodi is a saree with the pink stripes and a border on the edges.
Bandhani saree: It is the saree decorated with figurative designs. It mainly found in Gujarat, Sindh, Punjab region , Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The traces of this saree found in Indus Valley civilization. It is also known as piliya, Bandhej saree and chungidi. It requires a lot of skills because a lot of patterns has to be made by dyeing and threads. The majorly used colors of this saree is red, green, blue, yellow and black. As the dying process is done by hand so all the possible color combination is used in this saree. It is mainly done by khatri community of Saurashtra and kutch. Women of this community work at home for the designing of this saree. Anjar, Rajkot, Pethapur, Jetpur, Bhuj, Mandavi and Jamnagar are the cities of Gujarat where Bandani work is done. As water of these cities give brightness to colors. Bandani have different colors and different colors have different meaning. As according to people’s believe red color is a symbol of good luck in new marriage.
Zari work : Zari work is a work done by fine threads of gold and silver. This work traces found in Rig veda and it flourished in Mughal era. It is not made by real gold and silver metallic yarn. It is one of the textile product of Gujarat. It is found in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Varanasi, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. There are two types of Zari one is from Gold or silver or from pure metal and other is from Plastic. This is mainly done in Kutch and Surat city of Gujarat. Surat is the largest producer of Zari Saree and it is made up from ribbons, laces, fringes, cords etc. Zari was one of the fabric which was used by artisans and Mughals.
Sindhi Taanka : It is a work mainly derived from leather. It is mainly done on cloth of cotton and silk. It is done by artisans proportionately on garments of cotton and silk . The majorly used colors in this are Black, violet, Indigo, green, turquoise white, blue and pink. It is mainly done by Ahirs, cultivators, cowherds and kunbis. It contains very fine work of stitching and needle. It mainly done on a plain cloth.
Embroidery work : Famous embroidery work of Gujarat are soof and ari of Banaskantha; Ahir, soof, Neran, Mutwa, Kharek, Aribharat or Kutch, Heer or banni from Kutch;Kathipa, Kanbi Mahajan, Rabari from Jamnagar, Rajkot, Junagarh, Bhavnagar regions.
Rabari Embroidery : It is done by Lohana community. You can see this Embroidery on the garments, pillows, purses, wall hangings etc. It mainly reflects values, events and rites of Lohana community. It is mainly found in Kutch.
Beadwork: Beadwork is the art in which craftsman join beads together. It is done in Rajkot, Saurashtra, khambhat, Juragadh, Amreli and Bhavnager city of Gujarat. This work is done by communities of Vadodara, Panchmahals and Dahod regions. It is used in creation of ornaments, torans, motifs, Mangals, Chaklas, necklaces, Kalash, bangles, Patterns, earrings etc.
Leather work : Gujarat have an excellence in leather like mirror frames, cushion covers, batwa, mojdi, frames, purses and bags. It is mostly made by Meghwal community.
This shows the beauty of art and culture of Gujarat. How beautiful their textile and work is. What kind of quality they have. There hard and dedication is clearly indicate here.
:- By Rhythm Pasricha
