TRADITIONAL SAREES FROM MADHYA PARADESH : TYPE, DESIGN AND IMAGES

 A prominent element of the culture of Madhya Pradesh is its traditional and ethnic clothing. In the modernized world, the people of Madhya Pradesh still preserve their traditional clothing heritage. Madhya Pradesh has several towns famous for their sarees, known for various native traditional printing techniques and weaving specialties. One can’t go empty-handed from Madhya Pradesh as all these destinations are great to shop native weaves and prints.

CHANDERI SAREE

Chanderi saree is the jewel in Madhya Pradesh textiles industry’s crown. The traditional Chanderi sarees are the other name of sophistication, their beginnings as far back as around the 13th century. Chanderi sarees are the pride possession of females of Schindhya dynasty who made it more popular in the 19th century. Chanderi is a traditional ethnic fabric from the historical town of Chanderi in Ashoknagar district of Madhya Pradesh. Traditional Chanderi sarees are characterized by its lightweight, unique transparency or sheer texture and fine luxurious feel. Chanderi fabric is produced by traditional weavers’ practice, the art of shimmering textured sarees in cotton and silk, decorated with fine zari work. This fabric can be classified into three types – Chanderi silk cotton, pure silk and Chanderi cotton. Traditional Chanderi sarees used to be embellished with beautiful motifs of ginis /asrafis (coins), butis (buds) and intricate gold zari border, now-a-days the sarees are available in gorgeous motifs inspired by nature such as flowers, birds, and fruits. Earlier, traditional Chanderi sarees were only weaved in natural off-white colour until certain weavers began to dye the yarns in the pastel colours. 

MAHESHWARI SAREE

The origin of Maheswari handloom fabrics can be traced back to 5th century in the capital of Malwa, culturally rich and historical city of Maheshwar, in district Khargone, Madhya Pradesh .The royal family of Indore, the Holkars, have been the chief patrons of traditional elegant Maheshwari  sarees, mainly worn by the females of Malwa royal courts. Maheshwari sarees are woven by using wooden looms and are traditionally coloured using vegetable dyes. The popular shades for Maheshwari sarees include Angoori (grape green),Dalimbi (deep pink), Gul Bakhshi (magenta), Rani (deep mauve pink), Kaasni (light violet), Jaamla (purple), Dhaani (green), Chintamani (peacock blue), Aamrak (golden), Tapkeeree (deep brown) etc. The pallu of the traditional Maheshwari sarees have five alternating stripes of which three are of different colors but two are always white. The use of zari and kinari is also unique to the Maheshwari  saree. The Maheshwari saree is a blend of Coimbatore cotton and Bangalore silk yarn festooned with graceful exotic motifs and designs on the body, border and the pallu of the saree. Specially motifs like Guldasta, Aambuta, Ghunggroo, Chatai kinar, Bel phool, Jai phool, Hansa, Mayur, Baila Ankhi, Ambi Buti and Chandtara looks lovely. Some traditional Maheshwari sarees have a reversible border which makes it possible to wear them in both sides. The sarees always have a light fabric which floats on the body thus making them perfect wear in Indian summers.

BAGH PRINT SAREE

Town Bagh in district Dhar is tremendously popular for handmade block print sarees. Traditional Bagh Print saree is practiced by the skilled workforce, cotton or silk or chiffon sarees are stamped with blocks. Bagh printing is done using natural handmade colours made out of vegetables and flower extracts, roots of plants called ‘Aal’, and Indigo. The Bagh prints are inspired by geometric design of nature, wildlife, and heritage. The traditional and commonly used block motifs are Genda (Marigold flower), Nariyal Jaal (inspired by Taj Mahal) etc. The shades of red and black are predominant in this printing, it also provides a 3D effect because of the intricately carved motifs. Bagh printed cotton is one of the most popular fabrics worn during the summer because of its lightweight and organic feel. 

 BATIK SAREE

The small town, Bhairavgarh near Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, is well known as the hub of traditional Batik printing sarees. Batik is an age-old craft in which a section of fabric is covered with hot wax. After drying, the fabric is crushed to bring out the cooled wax. Lastly, it’s dyed which gives the fabric a unique cracked effect. The talented artisans are used to contemporary practices, they use the traditional techniques which involve the use of only 3-4 colours and new techniques which allows the artist to experiment with 9-10 different colours. 

ZARI-ZARDOZI SAREE

The city Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh is popular for its Zari-Zardozi saree. The traditional sarees are enriched by the elegant motifs and ornamental work of zari thread and beads on the silky soft fabric. The begums of Bhopal gave this artistic craft a push by encouraging the craftsmen. Once been the important part of nawabi culture, traditional zari-zardozi saree is still popular and practiced by many artisans.