The Sarees of Benares

The grand Benaresi sarees have a distinctive look and continue to be the most sought after wedding sarees, especially for north Indian brides. The sarees are woven in the kadwa technique of interlacing multiple wefts to create patterns, leaving a clean finish on the reverse side of the saree. The traditional Benaresi saree has an elaborate border and pallu, with a special feature, the konia (a cross paisley pattern), at end of the pallu with buttas (motifs) or a jaal (creeper pattern) throughout the body. This was a very time consuming process, so today, only the very expensive sarees are woven in the kadwa style. To save on cost, the patterns are no longer interlaced (kadwa). They are created with a single weft, which forms long floats (weft threads) between the motifs on the reverse side of the fabric, and these are carefully cut after the saree is removed from the loom.

The sarees continue to be woven on a pit loom but the jala used to manipulate the warp threads to create the patterns has been replaced by a jacquard device attached on top of the loom. Depending on the intricacy of the pattern, anywhere between 1200 and 4000 cards are required to weave a saree. It costs between Rs.16,000 and Rs.20,000 to develop a new design and, for a more intricate pattern, the cost can go up to Rs.60,000. A weaver manages to weave three sarees a month, and a few designs that become popular continue to be produced for two to five years, and are offered in many colour variations. While the jacquard does most of the lifting of the warp threads, skill is required to manipulate the multiple weft shuttles to create the pattern with a clean finish. Depending on the skill and output of the weaver, he earns anywhere between Rs.350 and Rs.800 for a day’s work.

The Benaras weavers are very skilled and it is believed that what is not possible to produce anywhere else in the country, the Benares weavers can produce. Many designers are now working with Benaras brocades and their intervention has bought a lot of attention and visibility for these brocades. There is a revival of interest and a growing demand. Today, a select group of customers are willing to pay the price for quality and exclusivity which is helping the very skilled Benaras weavers to earn better wages.