Banarasi
Encyclopedia
Banarasi saris are saris
made in Varanasi
, a city which is also called "Benares." These saris are historically considered to be among the finest saris in India
and are known for their gold and silver brocade
, fine silk and opulent embroidery, and being highly sought after. These saris are made of finely woven silk
and are decorated with intricate design, and because of these engravings, these saris are relatively heavy. Their special characteristics are Mughal
inspired designs such as intricate intertwining floral and foliate motifs, kalga and bel, a string of upright leaves called jhallar at the outer, edge of border is a characteristic of these sarees. Other distinctive features are Heavy gold work, Compact weaving, figures with small details, metallic visual effects, pallus, jal (a net like pattern), and mina work. These saris are an inevitable part of any Indian bride's trousseau
.
Depending upon the intricacy of designs and patterns, a sari can take anywhere from 15 days to a one month and sometimes up to six months to complete. Banarasi saris are mostly worn by Indian women on important occasions such as when attending a wedding and are expected to be complemented by the woman's best jewelry.
(1583–91) describes Banaras as a thriving sector of the cotton textile industry. The earliest mention of the brocade and Zari
textiles of Banaras is found in the 19th century. With the migration of silk weavers from Gujarat during the famine of 1603, it is likely that silk brocade weaving started in Banaras in the seventeenth century and developed in excellence during the 18th and 19th century. During the Mughal period, around 14th century, weaving of brocade
s with intricate designs using gold and silver threads became the specialty of Banaras..
The sari making is more of a cottage industry for about 12 lakh people associated directly or indirectly with the handloom silk industry of the region around Varanasi encompassing Gorakhpur
, Chandauli
, Bhadohi
, Jaunpur
and Azamgarh district
s .
In 2009, after two years of wait, weaver associations in Uttar Pradesh, secured Geographical Indication
(GI) rights for the ‘Banaras Brocades and Sarees’. GI is an intellectual property right, which identifies a good as originating in a certain region where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
As per the GI certificate, Banarasi products fall under four classes (23-26), namely silk brocades, textile goods, silk saree, dress material and silk embroidery. Most importantly this means that no sari or brocade made outside the six identified districts of Uttar Pradesh
, that is Varanasi
, Mirzapur
, Chandauli
, Bhadohi
, Jaunpur
and Azamgarh district
s, can be legally sold under the name of Banaras sari and brocade . Prior to this, in July 2007, nine organisations, Banaras Bunkar Samiti, Human Welfare Association (HWA), joint director industries (eastern zone), director of handlooms and textiles Uttar Pradesh Handloom Fabrics Marketing Cooperative Federation, Eastern UP Exporters Association (EUPEA), Banarasi Vastra Udyog Sangh, Banaras Hath Kargha Vikas Samiti and Adarsh Silk Bunkar Sahkari Samiti, had applied to the Chennai-based Geographical Indication Registry of Government of India
, in a move that was supported by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD)
and silk
; Georgette
, and Shattir, and according to design process, they are divided into categories like, Jangla, Tanchoi, Vaskat, Cutwork
, Tissue
and Butidar
, a move is on to shift to natural dye
s. Research team from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
(IT-BHU) used the technique of solvent extraction and enzymatic extraction to developed natural colours from plants, flowers and fruits including accaccia, butia (palash), madder, marigold
and pomegranate
(anar)
Sari
A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...
made in Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, a city which is also called "Benares." These saris are historically considered to be among the finest saris in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and are known for their gold and silver brocade
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
, fine silk and opulent embroidery, and being highly sought after. These saris are made of finely woven silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
and are decorated with intricate design, and because of these engravings, these saris are relatively heavy. Their special characteristics are Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
inspired designs such as intricate intertwining floral and foliate motifs, kalga and bel, a string of upright leaves called jhallar at the outer, edge of border is a characteristic of these sarees. Other distinctive features are Heavy gold work, Compact weaving, figures with small details, metallic visual effects, pallus, jal (a net like pattern), and mina work. These saris are an inevitable part of any Indian bride's trousseau
Trousseau
Trousseau may refer to:*A dowry*The outfit of a bride, including the wedding dress or similar clothing*A name for the Bastardo grape in some regions*A white mutation of the Trousseau grape, known as Trousseau Gris...
.
Depending upon the intricacy of designs and patterns, a sari can take anywhere from 15 days to a one month and sometimes up to six months to complete. Banarasi saris are mostly worn by Indian women on important occasions such as when attending a wedding and are expected to be complemented by the woman's best jewelry.
History
Ralph FitchRalph Fitch
Ralph Fitch was a gentleman merchant of London and one of the earliest English travellers and traders to visit Mesopotamia, the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, India and Southeast Asia...
(1583–91) describes Banaras as a thriving sector of the cotton textile industry. The earliest mention of the brocade and Zari
Zari
Zari is basically a tinsel thread meant for weaving and embroidery. It is manufactured by winding or wrapping a flattened metallic strip made from pure gold, silver or slitted metallised polyester film, on a core yarn, usually of pure silk, art silk, viscose, cotton, nylon, polyester, P.P.,...
textiles of Banaras is found in the 19th century. With the migration of silk weavers from Gujarat during the famine of 1603, it is likely that silk brocade weaving started in Banaras in the seventeenth century and developed in excellence during the 18th and 19th century. During the Mughal period, around 14th century, weaving of brocade
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
s with intricate designs using gold and silver threads became the specialty of Banaras..
The sari making is more of a cottage industry for about 12 lakh people associated directly or indirectly with the handloom silk industry of the region around Varanasi encompassing Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the eastern part of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India, near the border with Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur District and Gorakhpur Division. Gorakhpur is one of the proposed capitals of the Purvanchal state which is yet to be formed...
, Chandauli
Chandauli
Chandauli , also known as Chandoli, is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chandauli district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chandauli District.-Geography:...
, Bhadohi
Bhadohi
Bhadohi is a city ,Lok Sabha constituency and a municipal board in Sant Ravidas Nagar district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Also known as the "Carpet City", as it is home to the largest hand-knotted carpet weaving industry hubs in South Asia...
, Jaunpur
Jaunpur District
Jaunpur is a district in the Varanasi Division of Uttar Pradesh state in India. Jaunpur serves as the district headquarters.-Geography:The district of Jaunpur is situated in the North-West part of Varanasi Division. Its land area extends from 24.240N to 26.120N latitude and between 82.70E and...
and Azamgarh district
Azamgarh district
Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh Division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Etymology:The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit a descendant of Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in pargana...
s .
Geographical indication rights
Over the year, the Banarasi Silk handloom industry has been incurring huge losses because of the unfair competition from mechanised units producing the 'Baranasi silk sarees' at a much faster rate and at much cheaper cost, another source of competition has been sarees made of cheaper synthetic alternatives to silk .In 2009, after two years of wait, weaver associations in Uttar Pradesh, secured Geographical Indication
Geographical indication
A geographical indication is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin...
(GI) rights for the ‘Banaras Brocades and Sarees’. GI is an intellectual property right, which identifies a good as originating in a certain region where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
As per the GI certificate, Banarasi products fall under four classes (23-26), namely silk brocades, textile goods, silk saree, dress material and silk embroidery. Most importantly this means that no sari or brocade made outside the six identified districts of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, that is Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, Mirzapur
Mirzapur
Mirzapur is a city in the heart of North India, nearly 650 km between Delhi and Kolkata and also equidistant from Allahabad and Varanasi. Located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Mirzapur has a population of a little over 205,264 and is renowned for its famous carpet and brassware industry...
, Chandauli
Chandauli
Chandauli , also known as Chandoli, is a town and a nagar panchayat in Chandauli district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Chandauli District.-Geography:...
, Bhadohi
Bhadohi
Bhadohi is a city ,Lok Sabha constituency and a municipal board in Sant Ravidas Nagar district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Also known as the "Carpet City", as it is home to the largest hand-knotted carpet weaving industry hubs in South Asia...
, Jaunpur
Jaunpur District
Jaunpur is a district in the Varanasi Division of Uttar Pradesh state in India. Jaunpur serves as the district headquarters.-Geography:The district of Jaunpur is situated in the North-West part of Varanasi Division. Its land area extends from 24.240N to 26.120N latitude and between 82.70E and...
and Azamgarh district
Azamgarh district
Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh Division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Etymology:The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit a descendant of Gautam Rajputs of Mehnagar in pargana...
s, can be legally sold under the name of Banaras sari and brocade . Prior to this, in July 2007, nine organisations, Banaras Bunkar Samiti, Human Welfare Association (HWA), joint director industries (eastern zone), director of handlooms and textiles Uttar Pradesh Handloom Fabrics Marketing Cooperative Federation, Eastern UP Exporters Association (EUPEA), Banarasi Vastra Udyog Sangh, Banaras Hath Kargha Vikas Samiti and Adarsh Silk Bunkar Sahkari Samiti, had applied to the Chennai-based Geographical Indication Registry of Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
, in a move that was supported by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
(UNCTAD)
Varieties
Today there are four main varieties of Banarasi sari, which includes pure silk (Katan), Organza (Kora) with ZariZari
Zari is basically a tinsel thread meant for weaving and embroidery. It is manufactured by winding or wrapping a flattened metallic strip made from pure gold, silver or slitted metallised polyester film, on a core yarn, usually of pure silk, art silk, viscose, cotton, nylon, polyester, P.P.,...
and silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
; Georgette
Georgette
Georgette may refer to:* Georgette Lemare, fictional character from the anime/manga Strike Witches* Georgette , crinkly crepe-like fabric...
, and Shattir, and according to design process, they are divided into categories like, Jangla, Tanchoi, Vaskat, Cutwork
Cutwork
Cutwork or cut work is a needlework technique in which portions of a textile are cut away and the resulting "hole" is reinforced and filled with embroidery or needle lace.Cutwork is a related to drawn thread work...
, Tissue
Tissue paper
Tissue paper is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made both from virgin and recycled paper pulp.-Properties:Key properties are: strength, absorbency, basis weight, thickness , brightness, stretch, appearance and comfort....
and Butidar
Environment concern
Since a large number silk dyeing units in the trade, use chemical dyes, which cause pollution in the Ganges RiverGanges River
The Ganges or Ganga, , is a trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. By discharge it...
, a move is on to shift to natural dye
Natural dye
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources – roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood — and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens....
s. Research team from the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
The Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University is an engineering institute under the aegis of Banaras Hindu University , situated in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. IT-BHU has 13 departments and 3 inter-disciplinary schools, providing technical education with an emphasis on its industrial...
(IT-BHU) used the technique of solvent extraction and enzymatic extraction to developed natural colours from plants, flowers and fruits including accaccia, butia (palash), madder, marigold
Tagetes
Tagetes is a genus of 56 species of annual and perennial mostly herbaceous plants in the sunflower family . The genus is native to North and South America, but some species have become naturalized around the world. One species, T...
and pomegranate
Pomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
(anar)
Modern usage
The age-old magic of a Banarasi sari has now been recreated on a new platform. In a makeover design, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, decided the welcoming staff at the group’s Luxury Hotels would be draped in the rich colours and designs of the Banarasi six yards.External links
- Banarasi Sari and Brocades at VaranasiVaranasi-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
Official website. - Banarasi Saree