Handlooms of India: The southeastern states
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana hold an outsized influence in the history and culture of India. Their handloom weaves, naturally, are equally renowned.
Flanking the Bay of Bengal, framed by the Deccan Plateau and webbed by rivers, the three states are diverse yet equally rich in heritage. Their handlooms range from the opulent Kanchipuram silk saree and the Pochampally ikat saree to elegant everyday drapes such as Mangalagiri cottons and Uppada sarees. Lush and rain-swept in some parts, dry and sunscorched in others, this region is home to skilled weavers whose creations have been turning heads for millennia.
TAMIL NADU
The land of Bharatanatyam, the Tirukkuṟaḷ and filter coffee, Tamil Nadu holds an eminent place in India’s handloom legacy. The weaves are not just results of geography, but geopolitics as well. For example, king Uttama Chola settled silk weavers from Andhra Pradesh around Kanchipuram in 9 CE, while Thirumala Nayak welcomed weavers from Saurashtra to Madurai. Artisans from Karnataka settled along the western borders, bringing their expertise in weaving fine count cotton with them. While Tamil Nadu’s handwoven Kanchipuram silk sarees are the best-known, sarees from Madurai, Chettinad and smaller towns have a distinct appeal and character.
Every wedding season, families visit the ancient temple town looking for the perfect bridal silk saree. Made with mulberry silk and pure gold zari, handloom Kanchipuram silk sarees have been the preferred choice for centuries.
Typically woven on pit looms, the sarees abound with temple motifs and emblems of everyday life - manga (mango), annam (swan), kamalam (lotus), muthu (pearl), the mythical yali, thazhampoo (screwpine flower), and kodi visiri (flowering creeper), to name a few. The korvai (attached) border is a specialty, and woven separately using the three-shuttle process. Sarees with korvai borders tend to feature a vivid interplay of colours and patterns, and make for the perfect occasionwear.
Kanchipuram cotton & silk-cotton sarees
The designs of Kanchipuram silk sarees are reproduced in fine cotton and silk-cotton as well. You’ll find bold kattam (checked) patterns, vibrant muppagam (three-part) designs, and vaira oosi (pinstripes) in abundance.
The contrasting colours of the body and the border are a signature of the Kanchipuram weave. The cottons tend to be mildly starched, becoming supple over time. The more opulent designs pair a cotton body with rich zari borders, buttas and pallu, while some sarees feature exceptionally intricate threadwork in contrasting shades.
Chettinad, famous as the home of the Chettiar mercantile community, is among the hottest districts in Tamil Nadu. In response, its cotton sarees are fine and light, woven using 60s count cotton in both the warp and weft. Rich colour contrasts and elaborate zari borders are typical. The body, on the other hand, is quite simple; solid colours or elegant stripes and checks are preferred. The pallu is perhaps the Chettinad cotton saree’s most distinctive feature - simple stripes along the weft, in contrasting or lighter tones, add a touch of modern minimalism to a weave with a rich tradition.
Sungudi sarees
The story of the Sungudi saree is interwoven with the history and terrain of Madurai. Nearly 1,000 years ago, the Nayaka kings invited weavers from Saurashtra to settle along the banks of the Vaigai. The weavers specialised in silk but created the Sungudi cotton saree as a gift, their answer to Tamil Nadu’s balmy weather.
Sungudi gets its name from the Sanskrit word ‘sunnam’ (round), and has a distinct ‘bandhani’ look to it. Woven using 80s count fine cotton, the tie-and-dye saree features small dotted patterns and can take 15 days to make. The yarns are dipped in the river Vaigai, which is said to give them a fine sheen. The borders and pallus are dyed separately to create colour contrasts that are then highlighted with zari patterns.
Traditionally known for its lightweight silk sarees, Rasipuram in Namakkal is extending its weaving prowess to cotton as well. The designs are great examples of balance - bold motifs are accompanied by simple borders and pallus, while sarees with plain bodies feature broad stripes in a contrasting colour or zari. Of late, weavers are combining cotton sarees with pure silk borders and pallus, enriching the dailywear cotton saree with the finer details.
ANDHRA PRADESH
The state lies at a cultural and geographic intersection in India and has plenty to show for it. From the Satavahanas to the Kakatiyas, Andhra Pradesh has been the seat of powerful empires with wide trade networks. Fueled by royal patronage and flourishing trade, Andhra Pradesh developed a robust weaving heritage. Interestingly, it has equally strong traditions in fine count cotton and indigenous coarse cotton. The fabrics are so rich that they often require only the barest ornamentation, resulting in sarees that celebrate texture and drape.
Mangalagiri sarees
Simple and endlessly versatile, these sarees are woven in the ancient temple town beside the Mangalagiri hill in Guntur. Typically, a Mangalagiri saree is woven in 80s count cotton and features a solid-colour body paired with a zari border of diagonal stripes or miniature diamond patterns. A cascade of zari stripes runs along the weft to form the pallu. The traditional gold borders are called Nizam borders, while silver and thread borders are also becoming popular.
Lighter versions of the Mangalagiri saree have missing checks or missing stripes; these are achieved using a cross-weave technique that omits certain areas to create a striped or checkered effect on the body. The results are more diaphanous than the traditional Mangalagiri cotton sarees and are must-haves in your summer wardrobe.
When it comes to handfeel, few sarees can compare to the weaves of Venkatagiri. The fabric was originally made for the Velugoti kings’ dhotis and turbans. Soon enough, the royal ladies took note of its airiness and Venkatagiri sarees became the staples of royals.
Today, Venkatagiri is home to thousands of weavers creating everything from exquisite Jamdani silk sarees to luxuriously soft 100 thread count cotton sarees. The cottons tend to be minimalistic, with bands of zari for borders. Occasionally, mythological and nature-inspired motifs are included on the pallu using the Jamdani technique.
Uppada sarees
It's said that generations ago, weavers from the coastal town of Uppada traveled to Dhaka to study the craft of Jamdani. Upon their return, they incorporated the extra weft technique of Jamdani into their local weaves, and Uppada sarees were transformed.
Today, Uppada silk sarees are sought after for their lightness and exquisite curvilinear motifs, often rendered in the Persian style. Flowers are a favourite, while birds and the Benarasi jaal design are also often used as design elements. The designs are carried forward into Uppada cotton sarees as well. Of course, like their silk counterparts, Uppada cotton sarees also boast a breezy texture and drape exceptionally well.
TELANGANA
Ceded from Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Telangana was shaped by the same socio-political forces as its southern, sea-facing neighbour. Its capital Hyderabad, is closely associated with the erstwhile Nizams, and their courtly culture still echoes through the region and its weaves.
Weaving a handloom ikat saree is a mathematical process; it involves plotting the design on a graph, marking the patterns on the yarn, bundling the threads precisely and then dyeing them using the resist method. Then, of course, the weaver must painstakingly match the dyed sections of warp to weft on the loom.
In the case of Pochampally double ikat silk sarees, this process is more intricate, for both the warp and weft yarns must be resist-dyed before they’re handwoven. Yet, anyone who wears a handwoven Pochampally ikat silk saree will tell you it’s worth the effort. The bold geometric patterns, the vibrant use of colours and just the lightest hint of zari along the border make for a saree that instantly, yet effortlessly, draws the eye.
Gadwal sarees
Even the simplest handwoven Gadwal saree is designed for a celebration. Though heavily ornamented, Gadwal sarees - silk, cotton or even a blend of the two - are exquisitely light. Most often, the pure zari border is the highlight of the Gadwal saree; it’s woven separately and attached to the body using the ‘kuppadam’ technique.
Even Gadwal cotton sarees feature elaborate silk borders with layers of zari patterns. In Gadwal silk sarees, these designs are matched with rich zari pallus featuring banded stripes or jaal patterns. The weaves of Gadwal were first crafted for royals; though these handwoven sarees are no longer the preserve of palaces, they’re just as regal as they were centuries ago.
South Indian sarees have resulted from a cross-pollination of influences, both from within the region as well as from places as far as Indonesia and Persia. When we wear these sarees, we often don’t realise that they’re stories - not just shaped over thousands of years, but also thousands of miles. And the weaver, gently interlocking weft and warp, is the storyteller.
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