Threads Of Gold

Threads Of Gold 

One of the most ancient and traditional sari of the Indian subcontinent is the kanjeevaram saris found in south India. Also known as Kanchipuram silks as they were initially produced in Kanchi which is located in Tamil Nadu. The silks used in the creation of such saris is extremely fine and durable and is one of the most popular forms of silks found in Tamil Nadu , the mulberry silks. The usual length of these saris which was produced in earlier days was nine meters and even today there are weavers who still weave saris of nine meters as the demand still persists. 

A traditional kanjeevaram sari

These kinds of saris are made from colorful silk yarns and pure gold and silver yarns which gives the silks its ornamentation. The use of pure gold and silver yarns makes it look very rich in nature and hence it was worn as a wedding attire by women in south India or on festivities and occasions. It was passed on from mother to daughter and further down generations. The gift of a kanjeevaram is a gift that transcends time is what they say in the town of Kanchi. 

The weavers in Kanchi were inspired highly by nature which made them produce motifs like that of a flower, peacock, sun , moon and parrots to name a few. The other thing they also took inspiration from was the temple architecture in Kanchi. The temples in Kanchi were built by the  pallavas dynasty. One can also see references to the great epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata in their pattern making along with the Bhagwad Gita. 

Today one can also find tribal and contemporary designs and patterns in the modern time kanjeevarams. 

Kirron Kher adorning a kanjeevaram

Kanjeevram saris are woven in two styles namely : the 'petni' style and the 'korvai' style. The word 'korvai' in tamil means sync and in this style of weaving the body along with the pallu and the border is woven in one go and in the same color, while in the 'petni' style the border and the pallu is woven first in the same color and manner and then the body is woven in a different color and then the both are joined or attached. The procedure of making an Indian Kanchipuram sari commences with the task of preparing the thread, which is used at the weaver's loom. This involves, first, twisting the thread and then, dying and drying it in the sun. The border, the body and the pallu of the sari are created separately by the weaver. Then, he interlocks them together in an extremely tight joint.

The border and the pallu is made in jacquard. Computerized design papers known as punch cards are used to make the work of the weaver a little easier. In the earlier days the kanjeevarams were woven on a one shuttle loom but nowadays they weave it on the 3 shuttle loom as the one you can see in the above picture. The mulberry silk which is used in making these saris comes from Bangalore and the zari which is used comes the Tamil Nadu government zari factory. The cost of the sari depends on the amount of zari intertwined with the silk, the more use of zari will make the sari more expensive. More than 500 families still indulge in weaving in the town of Kanchi.