The Kalakshetra Saree

Created and popularized by Rukmini Devi Arundale, the saree gets its name from the ubiquitous institution founded by her. This is a Kancheepuram silk saree weaved at the craft center in the institution premises in Thiruvanmiyur. Today, the center also supports the dying craft of Kalamkari. 

Kalakshetra Saree

The uniqueness of the saree is it's simplicity. There is no jari work in the body, border or pallu of the saree, only thread work.

The Pallu

Though there are many variants available these days, the saree featured here is an original. It is my mother's and was purchased at the Khadi showroom in Neyveli 3 decades ago. It has the original design of butta (filled dots) in the body and the rudraksha (ருத்ராக்ஷ) in the border. The workmanship is amazing - the front and back of the designs are so beautifully interlocking.

Close up of the Rudraksha

 After many hand washes, it is so soft and cozy to wear!

Narayanpet Saree

This is a saree from the town of Narayanpet in Andhra Pradesh (now Telengana), a state with a rich heritage of weaves. Though the Narayanpet saree is not as well known as the Pochampally or Gadwal, it is very unique and distinguished by certain special characteristics.


Generally, the border is of a different color than the body and the border has thread/jari work in a set pattern. It is a 2/3 line weave of ||*||*||*|| separated by a gap and a repeat of the same number of lines of work to form the border. Spilling into the body is always the temple design.

Narayanpet Cotton

Being in the Western part of the state and due to proximity to Karnataka and Maharashtra, the Narayanpet saree is widely available in those 2 states. Mine were picked up in Dadar (Mumbai) on a recent trip. This lovely powder blue and grey beauty is a cotton saree and has yet another trademark of the Narayanpet saree - the checks. The weave is smooth and the saree is light and carries very easily.

I also picked up this black and white checks - was love at first sight! Saw many other sarees and came back to this one :) It is very simple with the traditional Narayanpet border.

A more traditional Narayanpet is the green and mustard saree on the right that I picked up for my mother. Photographed is the pallu while the body is a full green.

Pattern! Pattern! What pattern do you choose?

OLD IS GOLD! What my daughter is wearing below is something i wore a quarter century ago (oh my! how old does that make me?). It has found it's way into this post for a specific reason - due to the numerous patterns in a single piece of silk! This is a traditional South Indian Paavadai (long skirt) which is worn with a blouse.

It was purchased at ThiCo (Thirubhuvanam Cooperative Silk Society) in Neyveli, where I grew up. The color is a beautiful Kanakambaram - the color of the crossandra flower!

Pattu Paavadai & the Kankambaram poo (photo courtesy: wiki)

This long skirt has 6 different patterns:

1. Rettai pattai (ரெட்டை பட்டை) - literally meaning two strips
2. Chakkaram (சக்கரம்) or wheel pattern
3. Spear or eetti (ஈட்டி) pattern
4. checks
5. Veldhaari (வேல்தாரி) - a typical pattern of curves with dots in between
6. Butta ( புட்டா) or filled circles

Lovely patterns

Unique weaving patterns such as these are a treasure and these days (circa 2014) due to modernization and mechanization, the charm and beauty of owning something so intricate and elegant is close to impossible. Yes, they are exorbitantly priced, and even if you are ready to pay, you may not be able to own it because they are not available now. Yes, old is truly gold!

So, what pattern do you choose???

Bomkai Cotton

Bomkai is a famous weave from Odisha, just like its sibling - the Sambhalpuri Ikat. Unlike the ikat where the yarns are dyed in multiple colors to form a pattern after weaving, the bomkai is a traditional weave with the body and border/pallu woven in single color threads. Also, the body and border/pallu generally have thread work designs on them.

Bomkai Pallu

This is a lovely bomkai cotton purchased at Boyanika in Bhubaneshwar as a gift for my mom. Just like how painters are influenced by their environment, it is interesting to see weavers also include local elements in their design.

Puri Jagannath Temple

The Puri Jagannath temple tower seen above (Trivia: known as white pagoda, while the Konark temple is the black pagoda) has the Sudarshan chakra as its crown, which is in one hand of Jagannath. The other hand of Jagannath holds the conch, and this motif is used in this beautiful Bomkai cotton saree.

Patterns in the Bomkai - conch and a typical Odhisha design

Kanchi Cotton

Just as Kancheepuram is famous for its temples and silk, it is also famous for its cotton sarees which go by the name 'Kanchi Cotton'. Three shuttles are used in the weaving and the end product is a fine close weave with generally a contrast border. The cotton sarees are made on the same loom used to make silk sarees.

Kanchi Cotton

Mine is a gift from my mother-in-law and comes with a unique border pattern which is very indicative of Tamilnadu - the temple tower or 'gopuram' (கோபுரம்). So traditional yet versatile the Dravidian temple tower design is, that it has lasted for decades of craftsmanship and creativity.

Kanchi Cotton Temple Border

Trivia - The temple tower of the Srivilliputtur Andal temple is the insignia of the Government of Tamilnadu!

Vaira Oosi

What better than a Kancheepuram - the queen of silks - to start with?

I begin with a handwoven treasure! My mother's வைர ஊசி (literally meaning diamond needles) - every girl's pride - was gifted to her as a young bride. This is a wedding saree (the saree in which one gets married) in the Tamil Brahmin community. Well-off families buy it as a gift for the new daughter-in-law, it does cost quite some due to the amount of jari in it!

The name is given due to the shimmering effect the gold thread creates on the silk. Half a century later it is just as pretty as her with tender care and occasional use!!




This is a Kancheepuram silk, in a very traditional color (called arakku - அரக்கு - in Tamil). Arakku also stands for lacquer in Tamil and now you know why this color is given the name!!

Vaira Oosi Kancheepuram Silk

This is a 9-yard saree which is worn as a Madisar drape, which is different when compared to the regular saree (which is generally 6 yards in length) drape. Communities such as Gujarati's also wear 9-yard sarees other than the Tamil Brahmin community. But their drape is also different from that of the Madisar. Even within the Tamil Brahmin community, the Saivites and the Vaishnavites drape the Madisar differently. While the Iyengars' (Vaishnavites) drape comes over the left shoulder, the Iyers' (Saivites) drape comes over the right shoulder!

This wedding saree is worn on specific festive occasions every year like Pongal, Karadayan Nombu, and Karthigai. So, do you have any clothing so specific to your ethnicity? Would love to hear about it!!
 
 
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