Banarasi silk and Handloom fabric

Handloom fabrics of Rangamati: Prospects and
shortfalls

The handloom industry in the Rangamati Hill District is a welcome employment opportunity
for unemployed young females and underprivileged women, particularly the indigenous
womenfolk.
While, handloom products are gradually gaining popularity both at home and overseas, the
owners of the traditional handloom factories are discontented as their sales have declined
unexpectedly due to a wane in the number of tourists. Adding to their woes are the
skyrocketing prices of yarn, dying and other weaving materials. Prices have unexpectedly gone
up by 50 percent, owners said.
Around 2,000 underprivileged female workers are engaged in weaving at different handloom
factories in the district. Their work in the factories includes weaving, dyeing of cloth and
processing yarn. Weavers with experience usually earn Tk 2500 to 3000 per month.
There are nine handloom textile factories in the district. These are: Bain Textile, Nakshi Textile,
Banalata Textile, Banani Textile, Tantuj Textile, Craft & Fashion Textile, Bayan Textile,
Majumder Textile and Rakhain Textile.
Handloom items that enjoy good sales include pinon-khadi (an indigenous
material), shalwar-kameez, Panjabi , frocks, shawls, fatua, shirts, bedcovers, floor mats, dining
table mats and cushion covers.
Bain Textile was established in 1965 at the Tribal Officer Colony in Tabalchhari area of the
town. Manjulika Chakma is the owner of the establishment. Following her footsteps, the
owners of other textile factories embarked on the handloom business about 20 years ago in
the district, sources said.
Tourists and visitors seem to like the handloom products. While local demand was minuscule
in the past, currently a good number of locals are also buying the handloom items.
Simultaneously, good quality handloom items are going to cloth traders in Dhaka, said
Manjulika Chakma.
However, insiders say that the business is not that profitable currently due to skyrocketing
prices of weaving materials. They point out that to give a boost to the handloom industry, the
government could give subsidies and interest-free short and long-term loans.
Motaleb Hossain, owner of Banani Textile, asserts that weaving materials have to be purchased
in Dhaka, which adds to the cost. A shop of BTMC (Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation) was
at Reserve Bazar in the town about 10 years ago from where the company used to buy its
weaving materials.
Currently, many handloom factories have sprung up in Rangamati town, where as there was
only a handful about two decades ago.
Manjulika Chakma started her business with a capital of Tk 500. At present, Manjulika is
considered a pioneer in the handloom fabrics trade in CHT. She won a Bangladesh Business
Awards 2003 for her outstanding performance in popularizing indigenous fabrics.
They uses more dying materials and colors in the handloom items. So, demand for the items
is always higher than others and many who are not originally from the CHT have begun
working with indigenous handloom products following the same style."
This products are available at Dhaka-based outlets such as Aarong, Prabartana, Aranya and
Kumudini. Last year, I earned about Tk 35 lakh of which 65 percent is the production cost of
the total sale. Our overall sales are now down as this is off-season for tourists," she added.

      

    
Fig: Two indigenous young women weave clothes at a handloom factory
Banarasi

Introduction of Banaras or Varanasi

Varanasi also known as Banaras is a North Indian city on the banks of the Ganga in Uttar
Pradesh, India 320 kilometers south-east of the state capital, Lucknow. It is the holiest of the
seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development
of Buddhism. Some Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation. It is one of the oldest
continuously inhabited cities in the world.
The Kashi Naresh (Maharaja of Kashi) is the chief cultural patron of Varanasi, and an essential
part of all religious celebrations. The culture of Varanasi is closely associated with the Ganges.
The city has been a cultural Centre of North India for several thousand years, and has a history
that is older than most of the major world religions. Many prominent Indian philosophers, poets,
writers, and musicians live or have lived in Varanasi. Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India. It
is often referred to as "the holy city of India", "the religious capital of India", "the city ofShiva",
and "the city of learning". Scholarly books have been written in the city, including
the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas. Today, there is a temple in the city, the Tulsi Manas Mandir.
The current temples and religious institutions in the city are dated to the 18th century. One of
the largest residential universities of Asia, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), is located here.

Silk weaving is the dominant manufacturing industry in Varanasi. Muslims are the dominat
community in this industry with nearly half million of them working as weavers, dyeing, sari
finishes and in commerce. Weaving is typically done within the household, and most weavers
are Momin Ansari Muslims. Varanasi is known throughout India for its production of very fine
silk and Banarasi saris, brocades with gold and silver thread work, which are often used for
weddings and special occasions. The production of silk often uses bonded child labour, though
perhaps not at a higher rate than elsewhere in India. The silk weaving industry has recently been
threatened by the rise of power looms and computer-generated designs and by competition from
Chinese silk traders.

Introduction

Banarasi Silk (also known as Banarasi Silk) is a fine variant of Silk originating from the city of
Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India. Saree woven from this fine silk, known as aB anarasi Silk
Saree is very famous all over India and across the world.
Finding a mention in the Mahabharata and in the Buddhist scriptures in the first
millennium, Banarasi silk have its roots seeped into the rich cultural history of
India. Originally crafted exclusively for the royalty, each Banarasi sari was created from real
gold and silver threads, taking as much as a year to make.

Origin and History

Banarasi silk is an unmatched example of excellent artistry. Mughals brought this fine
craftsmanship in India. Mughals also tried their best to glorify the art of weaving and
designing. During the course of that act, they inspired few craftsmen to work in intricate art of
weaving. It was the beginning of Sari weaving art. In addition, at that particular time, Persian
motifs were being mixed up with the Indian customary attire. Today’s Banarasi Silks are the
product of this particular mix up of two different cultures and exemplary enthusiasm of
Mughals.
In the earlier times, silk for Banarasi Sarees were being imported from China, now it has been
provided by the southern part of India.
The art and culture of providing Banarasi saris with silks is very ancient. The continuations of
passing down the culture of artistry of the Banarasi saris from one generation to another have
never been stopped. Persian motifs were being mixed up with the designs of Indian silk for
creating this distinctive flowery pattern of Banarasi Saris, which are so typical in present days.

Sources of Inspiration

In the present days, Banarasi silk saris are still considered to be one of finest traditional saris.
It has actually been well known for its designing and gold as well as silver brocade or the
‘Zari‘. The special characteristics of these saris are their designs, which are Mughal inspired.
Very often, it has been decorated with intricate floral as well as foliate designs. Moreover, you
may also find a string of upright leaves, which are called as ‘Jhallar’. The idiosyncratic features
of these Banarasi silk saris include heavy working of gold, small detailed figures, metal visual
effects and compact weaving as well.

Faces Behind the Fabric

At least three craftsmen work together to make up one sari by using the power-loom. One
artisan has to weave the silk and one has to dye the silk, where the other one has to engage the
bundle of silk, which creates the power ring. The designs are drawn previously on a graph
paper. It has been imprinted as a patter for the punch-cards. During the complete weaving
procedure, this will be used as a guide for threads. The artisans may take fifteen days to six
months for creating the sari, which exclusively depends on the intricateness of the design. If
you wish to get a Banarasi sari made exclusively with royal designs, the artisans may even take
one year to accomplish that.

A penciled design for a brocade. This will be transferred to a large sheet of paper that shows the weft colors in magnified detail, which is then used by the weavers to create the design. We weren’t allowed to photograph those templates as they are considered proprietary.

Varieties

Currently only four key varieties of Banarasi saris exist. Banarasi silks are the most important
one. Moreover, there will be variations such as Organza and Kora with silk as well “zari”. In
according to the decoration and designs, those Banarasi silks can be divided into 6 more
segments. These segments completely depend upon the designs. The raw materials will not be
the catalyst of those variations. However, those categories will be Jangla, Tanchoi, Tissue,
Butidar, Cutwork, Vaskat and most importantly Banarasi Silk Jamdani.
• Jamdani is the technical variation of figured muslin. In these saris, silk fabrics will be
brocaded with the cotton.
• Jangla saris are designed with colorful silk threads to show the nature and heaviness of
festivity. Wildly spreading as well as scrolling designs are the significant features of Jangla
saris.
• Tanchoi Saris uses colorful extra-weft silk yarn to form the outline. The decoration of these
saris will show up as a maze, which may look like kaleidoscopic as well.
• Tissue Saris are designed in such ways that the Zari brocade of Banarasi will look like golden
cloths. These saris are the combination of zari and silk.
• Cutwork saris are the products of cutwork technique on the plain texture, which has been
done after removal of floated threads. These types of saris can provide dazzling and glowing
transparent looks.
• Butidar saris are the dark blue silken saris, which are brocaded with threats of silk, silver
and gold in a distinctive manner. Due to the darkness of shade of the gold and lightness of
shades of silver, it has been called as Ganga and Jamuna as well.

Present Day Scenario

The Banarasi silk industry has been facing quite a competition from the machine made
factories who produce Sarees at a much faster rate resulting in huge losses for the workers
who make these handmade Sarees. However, in 2009, the weaver association of Uttar Pradesh
secured a copyright of sorts for the Banaras brocades as well as saris. It stated that sari or
brocade coming from outside the six identified districts (Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Bhadohi,
Mirzapur, Chandauli and Vanarasi) will not be eligible for selling under names of Banarasi sari
and silks. Today, however, it is estimated that Varanasi has lost 80% of its silk weavers, many
of whom have left the city. The reason? A wave of cheap, machine-printed silk from China and
synthetics made in Gujarat has rendered Banarasi silk uncompetitive in the global
marketplace. With these lower-quality substitutes in easy reach, weavers with 15-20 years of
experience can expect to make just $3 to $4 per day. Whereas a cycle rickshaw driver can
easily earn that wage.
These traditional and beautiful Banarasi saris are now recreating a new platform. Even five
star hotels and resorts are now being decorated with Banarasi silks. In addition, Bollywood
films and popular TV serials are also using the traditional Banarasi saris for picturing the
wedding and festive scenarios. Silk for the Banarasi saris that used to come from China once is
now procured South India (chiefly Bangalore).