When we say Bangladesh, we remember their impeccable cuisine and sweets. And, then adding pride to the loom industry is the Bengal origin Jamdani. Originally known as “Dhakai”, named after the city of Dhaka, one of many ancient loom weaving centres in Bengal region, India. Considered to be one of the most beautiful revelation of artistic talents of weavers in Bangladesh. It is included in the UNESCO Representatives List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2013. This historic production of Bengal was patronized by Mughal Empire who took over the Dhakai production in the earlier years and named as JAMDANI.
When we say Bangladesh, we remember their impeccable cuisine and sweets. And, then adding pride to the loom industry is the Bengal origin Jamdani. Originally known as “Dhakai”, named after the city of Dhaka, one of many ancient loom weaving centres in Bengal region, India. Considered to be one of the most beautiful revelation of artistic talents of weavers in Bangladesh. It is included in the UNESCO Representatives List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2013. This historic production of Bengal was patronized by Mughal Empire who took over the Dhakai production in the earlier years and named as JAMDANI.
Origin
Jamdani is derived from the persion word “Jam” (meaning Floral) and “Dani” that is a container named after decorative floral patterns found in Dhakai Muslin. In the Mughal period , the Mughal emperor Jahangir, wore the Jamdani Muslin swatch around his waist with numerous floral designs in many occasions. Jamdani is the only surviving variety of traditional muslins.
Weaving Pattern
Jamdani is a handloom woven fabric made of Cotton. Considered to be one of the finest varities of muslin i.e, cotton, it is the most artistic textile of Bangladeshi weavers. The everyday life and dreams of the Jamdani weavers revolve around their craft. Traditional handloom weaving is such an art made by passion, hooks, and threads. Jamdani is rich in motifs. In the 19th century, James Taylor, five times Grammy winning famous singer and song writer described this cotton weave as Figured and Flowered Jamdani. But in the later 19th century, T.N.Mukharji, a renowned Bengali author refered to this fabric as Jamdani Muslin. Whether figured or flowered, jamdani is a woven fabric in Cotton. The base fabric of Jamdani is unbleached cotton yarn and the design is woven using bleached cotton yarns so there is a light and dark effect being created. The base sheer material is made on which thicker threads are used to create designs. The supplementary weft motifs are added manually by interlacing the weft threads with fine Bamboo sticks using individual spools. This process results in the vibrant patterns that appear flattering on a shimmering surface, which is a unique feature of Jamdani sarees.
There are types of Jamdani sarees :
BUTIDAR are small flowers motifs on the body of the saree.
PANNA HAJAR known as Thousand emeralds.
KALKA it is the motifs with Paisley designs all over the sarees.
FULWAR are motifs were flowers are arranged in straight rows.
TERSA are flowers arranged in sarees diagonally.
JALAR is a type were the entire saree is filled with floral motifs.
DURIA are polka dots weaving on the saree.
CHARKONA are rectangular motifs on saree.
The beautiful part of this technique is that the pattern is not directly weaved or drawn on the fabric. Instead, it is drawn on a translucent graph paper and placed underneath the warp. The fabric is not just limited to sarees; scarves, handkerchiefs and dupattas made out of this fine muslin are also extremely popular.
Colouring technique
Originally, the motifs used to be made on grey fabrics but later on, fabrics of other colours were also used. In recent days jamdani sarees comes in different variations one is the self coloured style, were the work is in the same colour as the base fabric and the other one is the half n half style, were the inner and outer halves of the saree are in complementary colours. In 1960s, Jamdani work on red fabric became very popular. One jamdani saree takes nine months to a year to weave, as any handloom weaving, jamdani is no stranger to the time consuming and back breaking art of weaving. There are bold and dark colours with contrasting borders involved. Most jamdani saree have motifs that are intricately associated with roots in Bengal culture. Many a times the pallu tells a popular tale or is a pictorial representation of simple village life.
Current state of Jamdani
Despite so much cultural and heritage history to this spectacular loom art, this art form has seen a decline as the weavers dont find the profession as rewarding anymore. Many design institutes are trying to revive this art and helping weavers to create new art form to the Jamdani designs. One of the finest and most expensive materials to work with, designers see endless possibilities with this beautiful weave and are taking a keen interest to it.
Fashion Industry
In terms of its general popularity, the Jamdani saree has been richly favored by a diverse populous of women, from socialites to aristocrats, from politicians to designers and entertainers. Designer Gaurang Shah, one of the pioneers to have showcased the Jamdani weaves on the ramp, has worked extensively with this textile and aims at reviving the love for this beautiful fabric not only in India, but all over the world. His clever touches of Dhakai work that have stolen the limelight at many international shows world over. He doesn’t label his work as he believes that the ultimate credit for each creation goes to the weavers.
A number of renowned actresses have been seen wearing beautiful Jamdani sarees to events, including the mother daughter duo of film director Aparna Sen and her daughter, actress Konkona Sen Sharma. Actress Vidya Balan, who is a saree aficionado, has also been spotted wearing a beautiful Jamdani saree with intricate flower motifs. Others who have worn the Jamdani saree include designers such as Sharbari Dutta, and Bengali actresses such as June Maliah and Ritupurna Sengupta.
Jamdani Era
The authenticity of the craftsmanship and design will make it a valuable addition to your saree collection and its value will remain unchanged for many years to come. popularity of the Jamdani saree will remain unmatched in time to come as it truly is a work of art that is steeped in thousands of years of history, art, and culture.
REFERENCE
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