The Beginning and The Fall of the Baluchari Sarees
About 200 years ago, the weaving of the Baluchari sarees began in a small village called Baluchur in Murshidabad district, thus deriving the name of the saree. The rich weaving tradition and the craft of making this saree were brought from Dhaka to the Baluchar village of Murshidabad and patronised by Murshid Kuli Khan, the then Nawab of Bengal. He encouraged this industry to flourish.
The industry shifted to Bishnupur village of Bankura district under the reign of the Malla dynasty when a flood of the Ganga river nearly submerged Baluchar village.
The craft saw a decline, especially during the British era; due to various financial and political reasons, most weavers were compelled to give up the profession, very few ardent weavers continued. A few reasons for the downfall of the craft were relocation, lack of patrons, and the pressure of changing professions imposed on the weavers.
Dubraj Das, who died in 1903, was the last known weaver of the Baluchar village. He would sign his sarees, just as an artist would sign his artwork, which was a rare phenomenon by any weaver. Also, other weavers such as Yajneshwar Kar, Baneswar Das, Goshta Bihari, Khudiram Biswas and Goshna Kariokor used to sign their sarees. With the demise of Dubraj Das, a master Nakshaband or maker of jalas, the fine craft of weaving Baluchari sarees on jala looms stopped. The sarees that he signed are still being found and procured.
The Revival of the Baluchari Sarees
In the early 20th century, a famous artist named Shubho Thakur felt the need to revive the rich tradition of Baluchari craft. He connected with Akshay Kumar Das, a master weaver of Bishnupur, and invited him to the regional design centre. Shubho Thakur was serving as the director; he trained Akshay Kumar Das in the Jacquard weaving technique. They both procured Baluchari sarees from Rabindranath Tagore’s family and studied them. Akshay Kumar Das then worked tirelessly on his skills and trained other weavers of Bishnupur. Thus, Bisnupur re-emerged as the weaving centre of the Baluchari silk sarees.
What is the Process of weaving Baluchari Sarees?
Base material
The Murshidabad variety of mulberry silk, which was less twisted yarn, was originally used in Baluchari sarees. The silk yarn being less twisted gives a soft, heavy texture. Mulberry silkworms are cultivated by a process called Sericulture. The silk yarns are extracted from the silkworm’s cocoons and are made smooth by boiling them in hot water and soda. They are then dyed in acid colour dye.
The yarn is then transferred to beams which the artisan attaches to the loom and starts weaving. The small beams are called Sisaban and the big beams are called Dhal.
Weaving Process
The process of manufacturing a Baluchari saree is time-consuming as it requires extremely good craftsmanship. These are handwoven and were originally woven using only the purest of silk threads; however, with time cotton was also used to weave it. The main feature of this saree is the arrangement of the design in the pallu by maintaining the corner and cross border perfectly in box pattern.
These sarees were expensive and thus were usually worn by the women of the upper class and the zamindar families on various festive and weddings occasions.
The Jala Technique
The native weavers of Baluchar used the Jala loom or the Jala technique. A Jala is a design reference using which multiple designs are produced. A Jala lasts for almost 100 years. The artisan first finalises the design on paper then passes it on to fabric using Machan and threads, which becomes the master sample. A copy of the master sample is also made on a loom and kept safe by the artisan so that if the jala gets spoiled he can make a new copy from it. The sarees produced were reversible i.e the motifs could be seen and understood on either side. It took about 15-18 weeks to weave a saree as it was a very elaborate process but it gave rise to a large variety of very intricate patterns.
Modern Day Technique
When artist Shubho Thakur decided to revive the Baluchari weaving in the 20th century, he replaced the jala with the jacquard technique. The design is first drawn on graph paper and then punched into cards accordingly in the jacquard technique. These cards are then arranged sequentially, sewed together and finally fixed into the jacquard machines. The jacquard technique might be simpler and faster as it reduces the weaving time to 1 or 2 weeks, but it is not as flexible as the jala technique as it cannot produce patterns with as much diversity or intricacy. The jacquard technique is still used today to weave Baluchari sarees but the motifs or designs are no longer reversible.
The Design and The Motifs used in Baluchari Sarees
The saree is divided into three parts:
- the elaborate Pallu with gorgeous Nakkashi,
- the Border that carries forward the theme of the Pallu and
- the Body that has the motifs or designs.
The Baluchari sarees are known for the handwork and the intricate designs done on them. Since the 17th century, Baluchari had enjoyed the special patronage of the Murshidabad court and developed a school of design where stylized human and animal forms were interestingly combined with floral and geometrical motifs in the elaborate weaver material. The Nawabs and Muslim aristocrats used the material produced in raw silk mainly as a tapestry but the Hindu nobleman had it made into sarees in which the style of decoration became a very wide pallu, often with a panel of large mango or paisley motifs at the centre, surrounded by smaller rectangles depicting different scenes. The saree borders were narrow with floral and foliage motifs, and the whole body of the saree was covered with small paisley and other floral designs.
An interesting feature of earlier Baluchari sarees was the stylised bird and animal motifs or designs that were incorporated in paisley and other floral decorations.
During the time of the Nawabs, the master weavers were provided with cultivable lands and ponds in exchange for the exquisite weaves. At that time, when all the processes starting from cleaning & sorting of cotton or silk, spinning, dyeing, planning the pattern, laying the warp to the finally weaving were completely manual, the weaver family could produce only 2 to 3 sarees in the whole year. Each saree was woven with motifs or based on a theme that too revolved around the lives of Nawabs. Some of the popular motifs that could be seen on these handwoven sarees involved a Nawab sitting on the throne and his nobles positioned at their respective places or a Nawab lying on his bed with a cup of wine while a girl is dancing supported by the musicians. The speciality was in depicting these scenes on fabrics with such minute details like the Nobel dresses, carpets, chairs and thrones using just a loom.
When Bishnupur was the capital of the Malla dynasty, different kinds of crafts flourished under the patronage of Malla kings. Temples made of terracotta bricks were one achievement of these rulers. A great influence of these temples can be seen in Baluchari sarees as a common feature in Bishnupur is taking mythological stories from the walls of these temples and weaving on Baluchari sarees. In 1957, motifs inspired by the Ajanta Elora sculptures were introduced by Sri Das on these sarees.
Traditionally, they often have depictions of stories and characters from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata and courtly ceremonies in the motifs. These characters give Baluchari sarees a very royal look.
The most popular motif or design is the one depicting the story of Lord Krishna explaining the Bhagavad Gita to Arjun.
What are the types of Baluchari Sarees?
There aren’t many variations in terms of the silk used or the method of weaving when it comes to Baluchari sarees, but they can still be broadly classified based on the threads used or the extra weft used to weave the patterns on them.
- Baluchari (Resham): These are simple Balucharis that use Resham (silk) threads/ extra weft to weave the entire pattern.
- Baluchari (Meenakari): These have Resham (silk) threads/ extra wefts in 2 or more colours to create attractive meenakari work that further brightens the patterns.
- Swarnachuri: These are the most gorgeous Balucharis, woven with gold or silver coloured Resham (silk) threads/ extra weft (often with meenakari work in another colour) that illuminate the patterns to a great extent.
What is the Difference between Baluchari and Swarnachari?
As mentioned above, there aren’t many variations in Baluchari sarees except for the thread used in them. In Baluchari saree (depending on Resham or meenakari work) colourful Resham (silk) threads are used whereas in Swarnachuri sarees gold and silver coloured Resham (silk) threads are used and not zari.
What are the Fabrics/ Materials in which Baluchari are available?
Concerning the Bankura district of West Bengal, GI certification was provided to this craft. Under this certification, any other similar product based on cotton or any other material can’t be given the term Baluchari. An original or authentic Baluchari saree will only be available in silk and with traditional motifs or designs.
How to Distinguish Original Baluchari?
A few things that can be looked into when trying to check the originality of the Baluchari saree are:
- The base fabric would be more compact and heavier than that of the Banarasi fabric.
- They can be easily identified from the construction of the long pallu and the placement of its design motifs. They are perfect rectangular closed corners that maintain the continuity of the designs.
- The motif/ designs are made with an extra weft of Resham/ silk yarn, unlike the Banarasi or other silk sarees that use zari.
- Authentic Baluchari sarees are made only on Mulberry silk which is locally also known as Bishnupuri silk.
Price Range of Baluchari Sarees
As per the retail market research and depending on the heaviness and intricacy of the work done on the saree it can range anywhere between Rs. 8,000 – Rs. 25,000 or more approximately.
What is the Current Scenario of Baluchari Sarees?
With the changing times, the Baluchari sarees have evolved and have come up with eco-friendly variations in terms of the yarns and colours used.
One such example is the spinning of cotton kapas with fibres of banana plants and bamboo shoots and the dyes are made from fruits, flowers, leaves, and vegetables such as pomegranate, jamun, neem fruits and leaves, basil leaves, turmeric, marigold flowers, mangoes etc.
These Organic Baluchari cotton sarees were displayed in the saree fair organised by Rang Mahal, a forum of weavers from Nadia district in West Bengal. However, with the GI certification of Baluchari sarees concerning the Bankura district of West Bengal in India, it is now not permitted to use the term Baluchari for any other similar product based on cotton or any other material.
Awards and Recognition
- Amongst 34 National Awards for the years 2009 and 2010, the Baluchari sari was one of the award winners for the main weaving styles presented by the Hon. President Pranab Mukherjee.
- These sarees were showcased at the India International Trade Fair organised in New Delhi. The West Bengal pavilion prominently displayed those products of handicrafts and handloom sector. They were recognised for their unique nature keeping the theme “Skilling India” in view.
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