Haven't all our childhood and half our adult lives been spent rummaging our mother's closet for her precious sarees? When we were little, all we wanted was to get that one bright saree to play pretend or wear it during the festive occasions. When we grew up we were again moaning about not having a good enough saree to wear to the college farewell or to the office party. The struggle has been endless.
And now that we know the importance of the six-yard of fabric, we wait eagerly to inherit the heritage handloom that our mothers have kept safe for all these years. So, here are five of the most beautiful handloom saree you will find in your mother's closet for sure.
5 Heritage Handloom Sarees to Inherit for Your Mother
Indigo – a serene shade of blue has been long used in making handloom cotton sarees featuring the famous Bagru or Ajrak prints. Bagru is an ancient form of Rajasthani hand block print and Ajrak is a form of the woodblock printing technique that can be traced to Gujarat and Rajasthan. Both these printing techniques predominantly use natural dyes to produce intense, deep colours like Indigo to manufacture the sarees. The essence of these printing techniques is to celebrate nature and elements. Due to the vast use of the colour indigo, these sarees came to be known as Indigo sarees.
Patachitra is a traditional form of scroll painting predominantly practised in West Bengal and Orissa. The paintings are known for being bright, colourful, and vivid. Patachitra paintings were used as a visual reference by the storytellers in earlier times. Now, this style of painting is being adapted on fabrics as well to create exquisitely beautiful Patachitra handloom sarees.
There is a story weaved in every Baluchari saree. If you notice the pallu of an authentic Baluchari saree, you will notice that the tales from mythology weaved in the fabric with colorful, bright threads. One of the best examples of Bengal’s artistic creativity, the origin of Baluchari saree can be traced back to 200 years. This handloom silk saree is said to have gained prominence thanks to Murshidquali Khan, the then Nawab of Bengal, who wanted to bring the ancient art of Bengal craftsmanship to limelight once again. As sais earlier, mythological stories are woven with silk threads on Baluchari sarees and it is one of the most elegant handloom sarees in India.
Kantha Stitch, a style of embroidery we are familiar with since childhood. One of the best Bengal handloom sarees, Kantha embroidery is intricate and is done both on cotton and silk fabrics. The artwork of threads can showcase anything from mythological stories, animals, nature, plants, or other natural motifs and shapes. The beautiful thread work makes this one of the most coveted handloom sarees in India.
Dongria Kondh, apart from being a gorgeous handloom saree, is a tribal masterpiece that came into limelight after the 2013 Vedanta Resources mining incident. Bright vivid colours, geometrical shapes and prints adorn the body and pallu of this handloom saree woven y the Dongria Kondh tribal community. It is one of the rarest handloom sarees to come by and would be your mother's favourite if you happen to find it in her closet.
The daughter's of India inherit their mother's sarees. Which one would you like to get from your mom? Let us know.