Simran Lal, Chief Executive Officer, Good Earth
Idia has a very rich heritage of crafts and boasts a traditional aesthetic that is culturally significant. And yet, it is a legacy that we are, at times, hard pressed to preserve in the face of changing economic pressures, or certain kind of ignorance of our own craft heritage. Another realistic hurdle is also how to marry traditional craft techniques with contemporary tastes. And yet, that is precisely the challenge that we at Good Earth set for ourselves and celebrate.
In crafting our range of Benarasi saris we had to look simultaneously at our inherited tradition and what it has developed into, as a result of market demand and perhaps a certain loss of knowledge. Market economics can sometimes create a knowledge vacuum that can in turn lead to a knowledge loss. Because the consumer is no longer aware of what a technique may involve, they are not willing to accept the price that a technique such as kadhwa should command instead of cutwork. And what is no longer in demand dies out as a craft. Below I share some of the facts that I learned while working with the weavers.
Yarn with Character: The Benarasi saris our grandmothers wore with such grace had a certain suppleness and sheen. Today, the most commonly used silk yarn is the reel pulled one which is an easy mechanised method. However, another, more time consuming, but traditional method is the one that produces spun silk. This silk thread creates yarn that is soft and supple.
Kadhwa Weaving: A traditional method of weaving motifs, this method requires that each motif be woven separately, with no loose threads. This is a laborious process. But it ensures that the reverse of the sari is as neat as the front and there no loose, cut-off threads to scratch the skin. Additionally, a certain suppleness is retained in the sari even when the motif is large or slightly dense.
Traditional Motifs and Metals: Indian weavers are in some ways the true holders of India’s artistic traditions. Their motifs encapsulate traditions and myths that are over a millennium old. They tend to be nuanced, delicate and rich with history. But it takes an experienced eye, what is also known as Pehchaan, to appreciate the intricate depth of these motifs. Modernity can sometimes be detrimental to these traditions – motifs can become distanced from meaning. What gets picked up is what is easy, less time consuming and easily replicable at a lower cost. Cost consideration coupled with the need to mass produce at a lower cost has resulted in the use of artificial zari as opposed to pure zari that was traditionally made of Silver or Gold.
An Indian Aesthetic: Perhaps the most obvious impact that modernity has had is visible in the colours of the Benares sari. Today most saris are woven from yarn that has been chemically dyed, which impacts the tonality of the colours. Moreover, using the same colour for the warp and weft thread creates saris which are a single, flat colour. Tradition has it that the weavers of Benaras wove their saris to reflect the hues of dawn and dusk in the eternal city. To that end each sari always had a subtle sheen and dual tonality of colour that was the result of using differently coloured threads for the warp and the weft. Thus, the final colour was never flat, and the sari seemed to shimmer. Another traditional practice, perhaps a reflection of Indian aesthetics, was the weaving of the kani or the selvedge in a different colour.
