A Gadwal-Woven Pure Silk Sari in Paithani Style, Pallu with Peacock Motifs

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A brilliant length of textile, this Paithani ‘sari’ woven by the most skilled hands of Gadwal weavers, another great centre of the art of sari-weaving in Deccan – Andhra Pradesh, on their hand-driven looms in pure silk yarn dyed in deep green, the colour specially appreciated for its cool effect and most favoured by Islamic populace, and the gold zari, represents one of the most celebrated classical styles of Indian saris. Now also woven on power-driven looms a hand-woven Paithani is still a rarity and highly valued textile, especially among elite and those who seek glamorous look and exclusivity in tradition. Paithani, a style of sari with rare distinction reflecting in its over-all design and patterning as well as in weaving technique, relates to Paithan, a town some few kilometers from Aurangabad.

Once one of the western India’s great business centres falling on the ancient trade-route linking sea-coast to central India and there-from to Silk Trade Route Paithan lost its glory when Aurangzeb, first as the Mughal governor and then as Mughal emperor, occupied Aurangabad and his rigid sectarian mind curved all indigenous traditions. Weavers’ trade was its worst sufferer for most of the designs, patterns and motifs matured across generations of weavers : the outstanding feature of Paithani textiles, were disapproved and discarded. Though Paithan’s weaving industry continued but with most of its glory lost. Later, Banjara, a cart-operating tribe of highly artistic taste decorating their houses and carts artistically – obviously for attracting customers, joined the weaving trade after their cart-operating trade had become perilous due to growing insecurity all over. This association of Banjara tribe with the weaving industry of Paithan, or rather Gujarat and its other parts infused their art-forms and tastes into the indigenous regional textile craft and gave it a better face.

This sari has been manufactured using the purest Paithani character – designing patterns, quality of yarn, colour, style of border and palla – end-part, its magnificence, lustre and grace, but the rare fineness and finish – overall technical excellence that it reveals, has been attributed to it by the skilled hands of Gadwal weavers where it has been woven. Gadwal, in Mehbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, an erst-before small town of traditional weavers who wove shallu cotton lengths – fine and luxurious textiles for royalty, is now for about a century one of the major centres of sari-weaving in India with its own distinction, popularity and name. Gadwal saris : fine cotton lengths with silk borders and pallas – a full five-and-a-half meters length, so fine as might be packed into a matchbox, rank with the most distinguished styles of saris and as the best in cotton sari-styles.

An example of the purest Paithani idiom this sari has been woven using a single colour pure silk yarn; however, the silk yarn’s own lustre and the reflection of enormously used gold-zari of which consists the entire palla and border and a large part of the field covered with gold ‘butis’, styled like a star form with rays radiating on all sides – a characteristic design-pattern of Paithani sari, as a flower-buti in Banarasi or Chanderi saris, it sometimes create kaleidoscopic effect too. This makes the sari reveal two colour effects : single and kaleidoscopic, broadly, the colour schemes most widely used in Paithani saris. Another feature characteristic to Paithani tradition is its border : a maroon ground in silk and then upon it a wide band of supplementary warp consisting of zari creating an oblique square design. Courses of parallel lines in black silk divide the border in horizontal bands of various breadths.

The most fascinating feature of this sari, the focal point of most of the Paithani saris, is its lustrous palla woven using interlocking zari weft, an exclusive technique used in Paithani saris. Paithani saris have as a rule an elaborate palla consisting entirely of zari thread overlaid with various design-patterns rendered in coloured silk : ‘mor’ – peacocks, ‘popat’ – parrot, ‘kuyri’ – mango, ‘rui phool’ – cotton-plant flower, ‘paisa’ – coin, ‘pankhi’ – fan, ‘pankhari – lotus petal, ‘ghata’ – pot, moon, coconut among others. The technique of weaving these motifs is very intricate requiring fine tying of weft or warp with the threads used for creating these motifs revealing tapestry type effect. The palla in this sari consists of two parts, a sub-palla type wide band or part in between the main palla and the main sari part comprising a row of large mango butah, and the palla proper. This palla proper consists mainly of pairs of peacocks, the most popular design-motif of Paithani saris, woven around a stylistic tiny plant motif rising from an ornate pot. Other motifs used for adorning the palla are leaf-designs, stylized flowers and arrow forms.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture.