About Banarasi Saree

A Banarasi saree may be a saree made in Varanasi, an ancient city that is additionally called Benares (Banaras). The sarees are among the best sarees in India and are known for his or her gold and silver brocade or zari, fine silk, and opulent embroidery. The sarees are made from finely woven silk and are decorated with intricate design and, due to these engravings, are relatively heavy. There are four main sorts of Banarasi saree, which incorporates pure silk (Katan), Organza (Kora) with Zari and silk; Georgette, and Shattir, and consistent with the planning process, they're divided into categories like Jangla, Tanchoi, Vaskat, Cutwork, Tissue, and Butidar.

Imagine walking into a store and watching a craftsman work with gleaming gold threads, as he peers over a rickety handloom, using techniques that are almost as old as time itself. Each of those Banarasi sarees, he says, takes him anywhere from a fortnight to 6 months to finish. The know-how has been passed right down to him from his forefathers. it's one that he learned just by watching his family when he was just a boy. Within the 21st century, this scene could seem love it belongs to a black-and-white reel played during a museum. But this ancient craft of weaving Banarasi silk sarees can still be glimpsed during a few silk emporiums in Varanasi.

Origin and history

Historians are ready to trace silk work to Vedic times. Hiranya – literally translated as cloth made up of gold – finds mention within the revered Rig Vedas because of the attire of the Gods. and a few scholars believe that this description comes on the brink of the embellished zari work, synonymous with Banarasi silk sarees. The timeless Jataka Tales and Pali texts support the evidence of a bustling cloth trade on the banks of the holy Ganga, in Kashi.

There’s no debating the very fact that Banaras has been a crucial center for weaving since time out of mind. But it had been Mughal Emperor Akbar who gave the weaving industry, here and across India, an attempt within the arm. The emperor who was known for his love of the finer things in life – Persian wine, his gem-crusted sword with crusted elephants, his sarpanch (turban ornament) which consisted of huge emeralds in elaborate floral motifs, and more – also loved zari work (embroidery in pure gold). He had many of his wives and people from his harem wrapped in rich silk sarees with zari work. And this is often what we today popularly ask as Banarasi silk, while also adding silver threadwork to the combination.

Special features

The saree designs are first created on paper: the pattern is literally punched into paper, making it look very similar to Braille. A separate pattern guides each row and many such patterns, (Naksha Patras), are created for one saree.

It is essentially these Patras that offer you everything from floral motifs to jali work and more. supported these Patras the dyed silk and zari threads are wound into the handloom, to make the specified patterns. Given the trouble, the sarees often accompany a hefty tag. And sarees produced on handlooms can take anywhere from 15 days to a month, and sometimes up to 6 months.

Today power looms are replacing the hand-loom and lowering on labor and production time. But the ultimate machine-made product is uniform and lacks the distinctiveness of the handmade saree.

How to identify a Banarasi silk saree

With the rise in prices of gold and silver, copper alloys are wont to create zari threads. These threads are then plated in silver or gold. “But the trained eye can immediately spot the difference,” says Ojha. He demonstrated a fake against the important deal and while the previous has more glitter, the garishness takes far away from the regal air.

An easy thanks to spot a fake is to seem for heavy thread work on the reverse side of the saree. But while these are indicators, they will often be manipulated by the crafty salesman.

To absolutely make sure that you aren’t being scammed, search for the GI (Geographical Indication) tag. This government marker protects customers and craftsmen.