Journalism of Courage
A new exhibition traces the journey of Dhakai Jamdani sarees from the late 19th century woven in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and some from an earlier period including some rare pieces produced by the East India Company. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
The exhibition, which is on till October 4, 2021, showcases museum quality Dhakai Jamdani sarees from the collection of Siddhartha Tagore, director of Art Konsult Gallery; it has been curated by Puneet Kaushik and Rema Kumar, at Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Jamdani was originally called Dhakai, after the city of Dhaka from East Bengal, now Bangladesh, where it was exclusively hand-woven for centuries. The secret behind its beauty, however, could be attributed to Phuti Karpas – an exceptional silky cotton plant exclusive to the region, which grew near the fertile estuarine banks of the River Meghna. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
In its truest form, Jamdani denotes muslin, a fine cotton fabric, with geometric or floral motifs woven on handlooms by skilled weavers from Rupganj, Narayanganj, and Sonargaon around Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka. Sonargaon, in particular, located at the confluence of three rivers — Meghna, Brahmaputra and Sitalakhya — was well-known for producing some of the finest cotton in the world, including the muslin. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
There is no clear date of the origin of this awe-inspiring textile, though there is mention of this term (muslin) in a variety of sources, including Kautilya’s Arthashashtra (3rd century BC) and the Gupta period (4th–6th century AD), as per the press release. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Geometrical & floral-III: This violet-coloured Jamdani saree is composed of pure fine muslin threads. The geometrical pattern, flower motifs with the royal gold zari dominate the area of the whole fabric. The pallu is covered with the geometric pattern and gold zari work on borderline. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
The decline of the Bengali Jamdani and muslin began when the Indian subcontinent came under the British Raj. It eventually lost out to the cheaper mill-produced European textiles such as Manchester cotton. By the early 20th century, Dhaka muslin quietly vanished from every corner of the globe, with the only surviving examples stashed safely in valuable private collections and museums. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
In 2013, UNESCO declared the traditional art of weaving Jamdani an “intangible cultural heritage of humanity”. Three years later, in 2016, Bangladesh would declare the Jamdani as its first GI product. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
The Jamdani Festival organised by the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh and the Bengal Foundation in 2019, helped revive interest in this weave and efforts are on to restore it to its original excellence. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Parrot: This blue-coloured fine muslin Jamdani saree is composed of pure fine muslin, the body of the saree is plain which is dominating the area of the whole length. The pallu is covered with a floral motif and gold zari work, and a row of parrots can be seen on borderline. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Splendid! (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Though weaving was done by Muslims, most of the spinning was done by Hindu women. The weaving techniques were passed down generations orally through songs making each weaving cluster exclusive repositories of favourite motifs. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Stunning! (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Butterfly: This royal blue-coloured fine muslin Jamdani saree is woven for special occasions. This piece is composed of pure fine muslin threads. The body is embellished with butterfly motifs with royal gold zari work, which symbolises happy married life, often gifted to married women. The pallu is covered with floral motifs and royal gold zari work with the symmetrical geometrical design pattern. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
Floral: This choccy-brown fine muslin Jamdani saree is composed of pure fine muslin threads. The body of the saree is embellished with the flower motif pattern and pallu is exquisitely woven in geometric pattern with pastel black and pastel yellow colours. (Source: Siddhartha Tagore)
