Kanchipuram is a small town 72 km south-west of Chennai. It is a holy city, famous for its temples and the Kanchi Math. It is an ancient city and finds references in ancient Indian literature, the most famous being this one attributed, to Kalidas:
Pushpeshu Jati, Puresheshu Vishnu, Narishu Rambha, Naareshu Kanchi.
Translation:
Jasmine among flowers, Vishnu among men, Rambha among women and Kanchi among cities are without equal
Fun fact : Kanchi Sanskrit term denotes a woman’s waist-girdle.
It also is mentioned in the famous Sangam classic, Perumbanatruppadai,
Flanked by its belt of defensive jungles is that city
Whose doors are never closed to those who seek the prize…
It is almost synonymous with the rustling silk sari, Kanceepuram saree , tge sari variety with its own GI. But this post is about its humbler country cousin-,the Kanchi Cotton Sari.
Kanchi Cotton saris can be both hand woven and machine woven. The one I wore was a handloom sari.
The Handloom Kanchi cotton sari, however is a dying craft. I remember an interaction I had a a few years ago with a representative of a weavers’ collective about the Kanchi Cotton Handlooms. He said that one it was not cost effective to weave cotton saris as each sari took a long time to weave and the returns were not very high. Also, he said, there was an exodus from the weaving community in the next generation to other professions. Like all other handicrafts and weaving industries, the skills are passed on from one generation to the next .generation. More and more members of the weaving community, he said were moving weaving. They would rather be a security guard in a mall/ office, wearing smart uniform and sitting in posh surroundings than be a weaver which leads them to stay in dimly lit rooms wearing old clothes as weaving is a messy business in rustic setting.
Kanchi Cotton sarees have motifs, colours and borders similar to the kancipuram silk sarees. Horizontal lines, vertical lines, wavy lines, and checks. Short colours, temple borders, other border motifs of Kanchi cottom sarees are all stylistically similar to the Kanchipuram Silk saree.
The sari I wore is a checked sari in two shades of blue, checked with a mango –yellow lines. The pallu is also the same mango- yellow but cheked with blue lines. Can you see the intricacies of a seemingly simple sari? And we haven’t even spoken of the border yert
The Border, also checked, look at the larger orange checks and the smaller blue ones and the double colour thick lines
A bit about the boder. The border is the common Anna Pakshi , a mythical bird that symbolises purity. It has a rather exotic story around it- it eats pearl and canseperate milk andwater It is a commonly occurring motif in art, crafts and mythology, folk lore and legends.
Here ‘s lovely blog about it https://bridesessentials.in/2017/02/26/motif-series-2-the-elegance-of-the-magical-anna-pakshi/
Pushpeshu Jati, Puresheshu Vishnu, Narishu Rambha, Naareshu Kanchi.
Translation:
Jasmine among flowers, Vishnu among men, Rambha among women and Kanchi among cities are without equal
Fun fact : Kanchi Sanskrit term denotes a woman’s waist-girdle.
It also is mentioned in the famous Sangam classic, Perumbanatruppadai,
Flanked by its belt of defensive jungles is that city
Whose doors are never closed to those who seek the prize…
It is almost synonymous with the rustling silk sari, Kanceepuram saree , tge sari variety with its own GI. But this post is about its humbler country cousin-,the Kanchi Cotton Sari.
Kanchi Cotton saris can be both hand woven and machine woven. The one I wore was a handloom sari.
The Handloom Kanchi cotton sari, however is a dying craft. I remember an interaction I had a a few years ago with a representative of a weavers’ collective about the Kanchi Cotton Handlooms. He said that one it was not cost effective to weave cotton saris as each sari took a long time to weave and the returns were not very high. Also, he said, there was an exodus from the weaving community in the next generation to other professions. Like all other handicrafts and weaving industries, the skills are passed on from one generation to the next .generation. More and more members of the weaving community, he said were moving weaving. They would rather be a security guard in a mall/ office, wearing smart uniform and sitting in posh surroundings than be a weaver which leads them to stay in dimly lit rooms wearing old clothes as weaving is a messy business in rustic setting.
Kanchi Cotton sarees have motifs, colours and borders similar to the kancipuram silk sarees. Horizontal lines, vertical lines, wavy lines, and checks. Short colours, temple borders, other border motifs of Kanchi cottom sarees are all stylistically similar to the Kanchipuram Silk saree.
The sari I wore is a checked sari in two shades of blue, checked with a mango –yellow lines. The pallu is also the same mango- yellow but cheked with blue lines. Can you see the intricacies of a seemingly simple sari? And we haven’t even spoken of the border yert
There are two blues in these checks
The Border, also checked, look at the larger orange checks and the smaller blue ones and the double colour thick lines
A bit about the boder. The border is the common Anna Pakshi , a mythical bird that symbolises purity. It has a rather exotic story around it- it eats pearl and canseperate milk andwater It is a commonly occurring motif in art, crafts and mythology, folk lore and legends.
Here ‘s lovely blog about it https://bridesessentials.in/2017/02/26/motif-series-2-the-elegance-of-the-magical-anna-pakshi/
I wore this saree to a meeting at the NGO i volunteer with. That meant it was more an informal meeting than the formal one of a corporate office. I had forgotten how cool a cotton sari can make you feel, Some Kanchi Handlooms can be heavy but this one was a lighter variety. Pleasure to wear in this humidity.
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