Mahavastra of Maharashtra : Paithani
Mahavastra of Maharashtra: Paithani...
a tale of grandeur and charisma.
By Nayana Mhatre
A bit of
History...
The witness of Indian culture, richness and grandeur, is the 2000
years old tapestry weave and it’s saga, Mahavastra of Maharashtra, PAITHANI.
Known for the vibrant colours, motifs and purest silk weaving, this saree has
made India appear on International trade scene from ancient period. The Romans traded this fabric to it’s weight
on gold bullion in those times. Belonging to Deccan, Paithan, Aurangabad, it
derives its name from the place of its origin. Primarily known as Pratisthan or
Paithan, succeeded as not only the capital for several Deccan kings but also
flourishing textile centre and trading centre. Being a trade centre it was exposed
to several empires, interested many rulers thus faced battles every now and
then. Eventually lead to loosing the art base from the originating place
Paithan to Yeola.
In Indian records of Satvahana
Period, the customs describe Paithan, in the Brahma Purana, refer to it at
length giving narratives of the craft of textile weaving and calling it the
city Pratisthanpura. Satvahana kings understanding importance of foreign trade,
sent ambassadors to foreign lands to survey the potential market for Indian
products. OMG ... i sooo... see the fashion dissemination happening there. As a
result of this the republics of Mulaka and Asmaka were known for the cotton and
muslins produced in those regions. From Satvahana Period, Paithan, Pratishthan
as it was called then, gained worldwide recognition in silk and cotton
trade. As the history states this art is
2000 years old, in Satvahana Dynasty (200 B.C.) period Paithan was exporting
silk and cotton to Rome. Indian export materials such as pepper, cotton, silk,
ivory etc. were in demand in Greek and Rome.
The sculptures and the paintings of the Ajanta caves were craved around Vakataka reign. It gave a picture of coloured and embroidered silk and cotton garments, the paintings from caves number one, two and four confirm it. Paithan was known for its architecture, opulence and trading activities in Chalukya period too. Under Yadava reign Paithan attracted the royal attention, naturally booming the trade and business, which led to growth of Textile Industry. The craze for Paithani was prime cause for it. It earned the name Gangavarni, meaning, the fine and fluid texture along with the blue hues depicting similar to river Ganga. By the end of Yadava rule, Allauddin Khilji looted the region of the precious material and silk textiles. And later in early 17th Century Peshwas defeated Mughals and freed Paithan from Nizam’s rule for some time. In Peshwa time in power, the Maratha outfit was influenced by textiles from paithan. And as Peshwa charge was spread all over India, the trade of textiles from Paithan like Pagote, Rumal, Dhotar and Chintz was at it’s peak. Peshwas ordered special woven designs from the weavers of Paithan. One example designs of “ASAWALI” – gold and silver thread work, craze among women was asked to be created for Peshawa Madhavrao’s personal usage on dhotis. Only in one such instance was such a migration really successful. Raghujibaba Patil, the founder of Yeola city, responsible for getting The Paithani to Yeola. He relocated some of the expert weaver families in the late 17th century with him to Yeola. He provided for these weavers with facilities and excellent remuneration . The weavers were put their best effort to their creation and made Yeola a known name for Paithani brocades. The Paithani Weavers were skilled in the Jamdani, Turban, Tivate, Rumal, Duppatta, Shela, Mehmudi, Saris Like Chandrakala, Khana, Pitambara, Shirts, Kurta, Angarkha, Minah or Angi, Miracaee, Cuffs, Banglaa, Kuba, Pyjama, Lehanga, Kacholi types of clothes. This region was in rotation was ruled by Peshwas and Nizam. Not only Peshwas but Nizam government too supported the Paithani manufacture and weaving.
Paithani
This beautifully ornamented
tapestry yardage became an important and mandatory addition to the bridal trousseau
of Maharashtrian bride. In the wake of showing the social standing the craft
was hampered, more gold threads were added to the saree. It eventually affected
the weave as the silk couldn’t take the weight of the gold and the longevity of
the product was affected. Paithani originally was made in cotton and silk both,
thought silk gave it more strength. The saree, shela and rumal were the items
made along with saree in Paithani brocade.
This brocade got to the fame for its vibrant colors and the golden
borders with pallu decorated with multicoloured designs and golden butti on
body of the saree. This particular fashion was followed by men too. For men the
Pitambar was made with similar features of this weave. There are records of
Madhavrao Peshwa placing order for this woven fabric for personal use.
Artisans:
The Paithani weavers were known as salis in those times. Known as Maratha Sali and Padma Sali, they worshiped God Khandoba and Goddess Tuljabhavani. They had independent saliwada for their community in Paithan. Momins were said to be the salis onverted in the times of moghul rule. Experts in dyeing and weaving momins had their community place allotment as Mominpura. They were known for silk weaving and persued Himroo and mashru weaving too.
Rangari
These were the dyers and colorist communities in those times. In both Maratha and Muslim communities, the muslim artisans were said to be converted in Aurangzeb period. Well versed the procedures of dye making and their proportions. Natural Dyes were used for Yarn dyeing earlier.
Koshti
and Patwegar
Koshtis were weavers into cotton and silk weaving. They were more inclined towards cotton weaving. Patwegar or Patwekar were both dyers and weavers. There job was to wind gold threads, Kalagut, and silk threads , while preparing silks for looms.
Raw Material Used
Mulberry silk from Bangalore is used for Paithani and Zari (gold threads) used are from surat. Dyes are purchased from Mumbai and some families from Yeola are into preparing dyes for theses yarns.
Silk yarns of 18 - 20 denier were purchased from Bangalore and Zari
from Surat. Silk required per loom was 5 kg and zari required was 1kg per loom.
Average quantity of silk and zari consumed per month was 25 kg and 5 kg
respectively by a weaver. This was purchased at a cost of Rs. 3500 / kg silk
and Rs. 2000 / kg zari. A fly shuttle frame loom was commonly used by
households to weave a Paithani saree. In total time required for weaving
process included winding of yarns on bobbin which took three to four hours, dyeing
of yarns took three days, winding on warping frame took a day, and setting of
loom took two days. If the loom was new it would take a month, because of its
longer process. To set a new loom the process will start by changing the
punched cards, dyeing the warp yarns and weft yarns in the desired colour
shade, setting up the warp beam, threading the warp yarns through headles,
winding the bobbin for weft yarn and setting the cloth beam. Weaving a saree
took at least five days to 2 months which
can go to a year also depending upon the design and the intricacy of work.
Looms
Pit looms were used for Paithani weaving from ancient period. There are two types 1. Fly shuttle pit loom and 2. Threw shuttle pit loom. Nowadays lightweight metal fram looms are used for weaving.
Products in
the time of Maratha Period
In the time of the Maratha period,
weavers were skilled in the following types of clothes along with the golden
brocades popularly known as Paithani and Pitambar.
Jamdani
(Aurangzebi)
Jamdani was a loom-figured muslin. It was supposed to be the chef-d’oeuvre of Indian weavers. The weaving of Jamdani is a simple procedure, but the sewing of embroidered patterns on the warp is extremely difficult and time consuming And so, in later years it came to be commonly known as Aurangzebi.
Turban
This head dress for men was also known as Pagri or Pugri.
Tivate
Tivat or Tivate was a turban once
popular among the tradesmen.
Rumal
It was a square piece of cloth for
wrapping around the head or the cloth which is
waved before kings and nobles.
Duppatta
It was a sheet or cloth of two
breadths to be cast around the shoulders.
Shela
A form of scarf or a cloth
comprising four breadths draped from the shoulders loosely
over the body.
Mehmudi
Cotton scrap or a fine and close
returned cottons scarf.
Sari
This chef article of female dress consists of a shawl-like cloth called Sari which envelopes the body and acts as covering of the head. It is a common article throughout the country. However, the mode of wearing it is different from region to region. It is made either of cotton, cotton and silk or pure silk alone. Saris have ornamental borders and at one end especially the outer strip (i.e. Padar or Pallu) that rests on the shoulder and dangles along the waist has some kind of ornamentation, as in the case of turbans.There are thousands of varieties of saris. They are named after the colours, the centres of manufacturing, the textures of the cloth, the material used or the design embelished.
Chandrakala
This is a one coloured silk or cotton sari. Generally of black colour, it is also known thus as ‘Kali-Chandrakala’.
Khana
A special variety of cloth for women, its peculiarity lies in its embroidered borders.There were some centres of textile production like Dharwad, Kolhapur, Shahagad, etc. which were particularly well known for their production of Khana. Dharwadi-Khana is still in great demand.
Kacholi
It was a bodice for women also known simply as choli. Malegaon, Poona, Nasik, Jalna were the other textile centres then were developed along the line of Paithan by the weavers of Paithan and also produced these garments.
Pitambara
This is a silk variety of drape-cloth generally for males. In length it is just half that of the Paithani. The difference between Paithanis and Pitambars lies in the embroidery on borders and ends. The Pitambar has a comparatively small borders and no embroidery work at the end i.e. on the Pallu. Pallus are absent in Pitambars.Yeola was known for its Pitambar manufacture. and Kurta, Angarkha, Minah or Angi,Miracaee etc..
Names Of Paithani
Paithanis are either named after their colours or after their designs on the borders and ends, or after the embroidery work. Morpankhi brocade is an example of the colour of the peacock, Banosi is of the Pomergranate colour (i.e. Dalimbi), Shendri is of scarlet red colour, Gangavarni is of blue colour, Chanderi is of silver shade. Besides these there are thousands of shades of all colour mixtures and of shapes. Asavali, Akroti, Gazwel, Kuyari, Gokarnawal, Sadafuli, Borjali, Buttidar, Bangadi-Mor,TotaMaina, Kamla-Wel, Hansa-Kamal Narali are the names of the Paithanis derived from the motifs used on the saree. The embroidery is carried on with the help of gold and silver threads. Since it would not do to have it in pure gold, silver is mixed with gold to achieve the necessary tenacity. Gold is too soft. The proportion of these metals in generally one is to five as this gives the best jari thread. Sometimes copper was added to the ratio to increase the strength of thread. The difference in proportion are possible and these are left to the choice of the weaver, and so sometimes there are variations in the ratio too. As a result, the Paithanis often derive their names from the quantity of the gold used in their embroidery work, as well. Gold is generally measured either in Masa or Sher. Hence the Paithanis were known as ‘Chouda-Masi’, ‘Bara-Masi’, ‘Athara-Masi’ etc. Some Paithanis are also known as Pavsheri, Eksheri, Tinsheri, in this reference.
Exclusivity
The paithani sari is known all over the world for its exclusivity. The paithani, traditionally a part of the trousseau of every Maharashtrian bride. This is a hand woven silk sari with a rich, ornamental Zari (gold thread)Padar ( pallav) and Kath(border}. The special feature of Paithani is no mechanical means are used to create the designs. Skilled weavers count the threads of the wrap for each part of the design and using tiny cloth pirns or “tillies” the weft is interlocked the silk or gold yarn on the weft with them. Even a 21/2-inch border might need 15 to 20 separate tillies depends upon the nature of the design. Also the speciality of the paithani is its border and pallav. And when the entire spread of the pallav is to be covered, there could be over 400 tillies arranged across the warp to be used in turn. The technique employed in all the above design is known as extra weft.
Motifs
These motifs kept changing from Shalivahan period to the Mughal period. History had a great influence on motifs. In Shalivahan period „Bagula‟ and „Hansa‟ were the motifs on the Pallav. In Yadava period „Suvarna- Kamal‟ (lotus) was the main motif.
In Mughal period several types of flowers, birds, trees, Totamaina,
HumaParinda, BaheshtiParinda, Dranksha bale (trees and the creeper) Kuyari,
Anar bale, Gokaran bale and Phoolpattti were the designs. Asharphi- borejali
with muhar motifs were also common.(3) bangadi means bangle and mor means
peacock. So bangadimor means a peacock in a bangle or in a bangle shape. The
motif is woven onto the pallu, the design sometimes having a single dancing
peacock on it.
i) Sari: Close proximity to the Ajanta caves, the influence the designs woven in Paithani motifs. The traditional Paithani used to be a plain sari with a heavy zari border and ornamental pallav. However, today Paithanis with motifs are in vogue: stars, circles, peacocks, flowers and paisleys. The Paithani borders and pallavs are heavily adorned with these motifs and the sari is given the name after the design on it. Tota-maina (parrot), bangdi-mor (peacock with round design), asavali (flower and vine), narli (coconut), are all descriptive of Paithanis. In the olden days, the zari used in making Paithanis was drawn from pure gold. But today silver is substituted for gold thus making the Paithanis more affordable to all of us.
ii) Butti: The speciality is that the design being woven is done without the assistance of a mechanical set up on a frame loom. It uses multiple buttis to weave in the design. The most commonly used motifs in the body are :
• ‘kamal’
(lotus flower),
• ‘hans’
(swan),
• ‘asharfi’or
paisa (coin),
• ‘asawalli’
(flowering vine),
• ‘Bangadi
mor’ (peacock in bangle),
• ‘rui
phool’ (cotton flower),
• circles,
stars and clusters of leaves.
• tara (star),
• mor (peacock),
• popat (parrot),
• kuyri (mango),
• pankha (fan),
• chandrakor (moon),
• narli (coconut)
- Kamala (lotus)
Etc.
Many of these innovative motifs and designs are found on the border and pallav may vary in sizes and patterns.
iii) Pallu and Border: In the days of Peshwas, the Kath ( borders) and the Padar (pallu) were made of pure gold mixed with copper to give it strength. The proportion was 1 kg of gold to 1 tola of copper. The combination was spun into a fine wire called the zari. In recent times, zari is made of silver, coated with gold plating. The borders are created with interlocked weft technique either with coloured silk or zari. In the border woven with a zari, ground coloured silk patterns are added as supplementary weft floorboard against the zari usually in the form of flower or a creeping vine.
Two types of border are:
• the Narali
• the Pankhi.
Types
of Paithani
Even if a very good weaver has woven the main body, a master weaver decides the intricate inlay border paths. The borders and the pallu are woven in zari. Paithani sari is characterised by borders of an oblique square design and a pallu with a peacock design. The design framework is linear and stunning, embellished with florals and birds especially the peacock and parrot (munia) forms are woven in gold on the "kath and padar". The back and face of the sari is very similar as it is woven in tapestry method. Thus we see a strong resemblence with Himroo and Brocade's weaving. The jari used in the sari is on silk thread with twisted silver coated with gold. Sometimes cotton thread with twisted zari is used. In the pallu of such saris, certain motifs are very commonly found. Some of them are ‘Asawali’, ‘Panja’ (a flower in a geometrical shape), ‘Muthada’ (a geometrical shape), and ‘mor’ (peacock).
iv) Colours: Paithani saris are woven in a number of colors. The very delicate colors of the Paithani silk saris give it a unique touch these colors can be pure or be created using a blend of differently colored yarns. The colors that are typically used inthese saris are:
• kaali chandrakala (black),
• uddani (lighter black),
• pophali (yellow),
• neeligungi (blue),
• pasila (a combination of
green, red and pink),
• pheroze (a blend of
green, white and red),
• samprus (a mixture of
green and red) and
• kusumbi (a purple and red
combination).
The very delicate colors of the
Paithani silk saris give it one of a kind look. No two Paithani sarees can look
alike and that’s the glory of this hand woven piece of heaven.
Types of
Paithani
• Classification by motif:
o Bangadi Mor - the word bangadi means bangle and mor means peacock. So bangadi mor means a peacock in a bangle or in a bangle shape. The motif is woven onto the pallu, the design sometimes having a single dancing peacock. The saris using this motif are very expensive because of the design.
o Munia brocade - The word munia means parrot. Parrots are woven on the pallau as well as in border. Parrots are always in leaf green colour. The parrots in silk arealso called tota-maina.
o Lotus brocade - lotus motifs are used in pallu and sometimes on the border. The lotus motif consists of 7-8 colours.
• Classification by weaving:
o Kadiyal border sari - the word kadiyal means interlocking. The warp and the weft of the border are of the same colour while the body has different colours for warp and weft.
o Kad/Ekdhoti - a single shuttle is used for weaving of weft. The colour of the warp yarn is different from that of the weft yarn. It has a narali border and simple buttis like paisa, watana, etc. Kad is also a form of lungi and is used by male Maharashtrians.
• Classification by colour:
o Kalichandrakala - pure black sari
with red border.
o Raghu - parrot green
coloured sari.
o Shirodak - pure white
sari.
Disclaimer: All the images used are acquired from internet for promoting this art and craft of India. No claim on them, only used as no access to books in pandemic lockdown.
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Nayana,
ReplyDeleteVery well written!