Handlooms of India: Uttar Pradesh & Madhya Pradesh
As the bridge between India’s eastern and western regions, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have inspired its neighbours’ handloom sarees and also been equally influenced by them.
UTTAR PRADESH
Uttar Pradesh is a fabled land that’s first mentioned not in history but mythology. Watered by the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, it’s India’s heartland. Its handwoven fabrics are equally storied, with claims that the rhythm of the wooden handloom has been heard here, unbroken, for millennia. While we often think of it as a single entity, Uttar Pradesh is a deeply layered region, and its handloom sarees tell the tale.
Banarasi silk sarees
Varanasi has been a trading and cultural centre for centuries, and its weavers have steadily adapted their creations to match evolving influences and market demands. This explains the incredible variety of techniques, motifs and fabrics that are bracketed within the Banarasi handloom tradition. The motifs were primarily shaped by cultural exchanges between the Mughal and Persian empires, and are among the Banarasi idiom’s most striking features.
The jaal, a trellised pattern, is a signature; jangla and bel (flowering vines) are often shaped into jaal patterns, while solitary flowers such as ambi, paan, latifa, guldaudi and gulaab are used as buttas. The kalga (paisley) takes on ornate forms, especially when placed where the body meets the pallu. The most visible remnant of courtly life is the shikargah (royal hunt) design, which showcases a forest abounding with wildlife. The chaudani (diamond lattice) in gold zari is a popular pattern for pallus, and handloom Banarasi sarees are also noted for their use of Meenakari weaving to inlay colours within the motifs.
1) Banarasi brocade silk sarees
Brocades are the flagbearers of handloom Banarasi sarees. Their dense, smooth silk and glittering zari patterns make them the most popular wedding sarees. The saree is woven on the jacquard loom, with a warp made of finely twisted (kataan) silk; the motifs in gold or silver zari are woven using the supplementary weft technique and are gently raised from the field of the saree. This adds a richness to the texture.
Handloom Banarasi brocade sarees are celebrated for their dual tones. Think peacock blues, pinks tinged with orange, blues that border on purple. Weavers play with motifs of different scales to enrich the design, and silk threads are used with zari to colour the motifs. Most often, the motifs are entwined in a repetitive pattern, mastering a fine balance between geometry and nature’s curvilinear shapes.
2) Banarasi Jamdani silk sarees
The Ganga flows through Uttar Pradesh and Bengal, connecting weaving centres and dispersing influences like silt. So while Bengal’s weavers have absorbed Persian-inspired motifs, Varanasi’s artisans have adapted the hallowed Jamdani and Baluchari weaving techniques to their creations. The result is an exceptional handloom Banarasi silk saree that’s a collector’s delight.
The Jamdani motifs are added to the base of the saree using the supplementary weft technique, in a process as delicate as the motifs themselves. The fabric - which varies from silk to silk-cotton and light cotton - comes alive with floral patterns such as vines and buttis. Occasionally, the paisley at the kona (corner) between the body and the pallu looms large as a hallmark of the Banarasi style.
3) Banarasi Khadi Georgette silk sarees
These lightweight silk sarees feature rich Banarasi patterns on airy silks, making them the ideal choice for summer soirees. High-twist pure silk yarns give the georgette its lightness and crinkled texture. The sheerness of the fabric is contrasted with the richness of zari brocades, which often take the shape of floral lattices or diagonal stripes and diamond patterns. These days, you’ll also notice digital prints on khadi georgette silk sarees, showcasing the weavers’ flair for experimentation.
4) Banarasi Rangkat silk sarees
Handloom Rangkat silk sarees resemble woven rainbows and are distinguished by their gradients and multicolour palettes. To achieve this, the yarns are coloured either through resist or sectional dyeing. The weaver then aligns the colours on the handloom, an act that requires exceptional skill. The weft comprises silk threads or zari, with the patterns often highlighting the colour transitions of the wrap yarns. Often, wefts of different colours are used to create the vivid palettes of Rangkat silk sarees.
For daytime events, handloom Banarasi cotton sarees are a great choice because they offer the rich patterns of Varanasi in breezy fabrics. The warp and weft yarns are made of fine count cotton, though silk or zari can also be used to add a soft sheen. Weavers prefer floral designs for Banarasi cotton sarees, which adds to the garment’s sense of lightness. Jamdani motifs pair beautifully with airy cotton, and Banarasi Jamdani cotton sarees are popular picks as bridal sarees for pre-wedding functions. Banaras’ weavers are now working with linen as well, staying true to the city’s reputation for innovation.
As subtle and sophisticated as the erstwhile Awadh kingdom, Lucknow’s chikankari embroidery is a treasured handcrafted heirloom. Fine muslin has been the traditional canvas for chikankari sarees, though designers and weavers are also now using georgette, chanderi and kota doria. Yet, the base for the embroidery is always a thin fabric, which adds to the delicate appeal of chikankari.
The embroidery process is a time-consuming one. Using handblocks, patterns are first pressed onto the fabric; the embroidery is then traced along the patterns; the prints are then washed away to leave only the threadwork behind. Chikankari is synonymous with tone-on-tone palettes. Purists prefer white embroidery on bleached cotton, since this creates an interplay between light and shadow. The outlines are typically flat stitches, while raised stitches add texture and depth. Though colour contrasts are now common, the finesse of chikankari lies in its white palette, of which motia (jasmine white), kapasi (cotton boll white) and khaskhasi (poppy seed white) are just a few shades.
MADHYA PRADESH
Set in the very centre of India, Madhya Pradesh is a confluence that brings together the ancient and modern. Geography has influenced Madhya Pradesh’s handloom traditions as well, creating an impressive diversity. From 10-count coarse cottons woven in the tribal tracts to gossamer-light sarees from the royal courts, from block-printing and resisting dyeing techniques informed by Gujarat to geometric patterns borrowed from Maharashtra, the handloom fabrics are very much a reflection of the region itself.
Queen Ahilyabai Holkar might have commissioned handloom Maheshwari sarees as gifts for royal visitors, but her creations were a gift to Maheshwar’s weavers as well. Centuries after they were first woven, the drapes are growing in popularity due to their versatility and understated elegance.
The original Maheshwari sarees are silk-cotton creations, with silk used for the warp and cotton for the weft or vice versa. The resulting waves have a crisp, gauzy texture, dual tone and lustrous appearance. The hallmark of the handloom Maheshwari silk-cotton saree is the reversible (bugdi) border, showcasing the precision of the weave. Created using the extra weft technique, the border is the same on both sides.
Handloom Maheshwari silk-cotton sarees are known by their exquisite texture, which are often highlighted by solid colours with zari borders. Maheshwar’s weavers veer towards geometric patterns, so pinstripes and microchecks are another favoured design. The basket weave (chatai) and dainty floral or diamond motifs are also common. Recent innovations have blended the Maheshwari’s distinctive fabric with patterns from other parts of India. Ajrakh handblock prints are a trending style, as are Kalamkari designs.
Handloom Chanderi sarees have become the go-to choices for workwear and daytime parties, since they’re lustrous lightweight drapes that also look refined. While their most popular iteration is silk-cotton, handloom Chanderi sarees were first pure cotton weaves with silk borders. In fact, the yarns were earlier sized using a local root called koli kanda, which made the threads lighter, shinier and more lustrous.
These days, fine degummed silk is used in the warp or weft; mercerised cotton is interlocked with the silk in an open weave to create a slightly grainy texture. Elaborate borders have given way to slender strips of zari. While nature-inspired motifs are typically woven on the body, weavers are now experimenting with naturally-dyed ombre patterns, block-printing and digitally-created patterns.
While the handloom sarees that we now associate with Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh thrived thanks to the royals who wore them, their creation has interwoven communities at the grassroots - from farmers who grew the cotton and harvested silk and forest dwellers who sourced roots and flowers for dyes to weavers who crafted the sarees and traders who carried them far and wide. Kabir, the poet-saint, used the interlocking yarns on the loom as a metaphor for life and its connections. That’s what makes every handloom textile or craft the story not just of a place, but also its people.
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