Originating from Guntur, the third-largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, which is famous for the production of chillies is the immensely appealing and world-renowned Guntur Sarees. Known for its magnificent design patterns and fine cotton, this saree is an absolute preferred choice for any woman, with its simple and elegant look. It is also famous for its tight-mend drapes which have around 60-80 counts.
The Guntur saree is a daily wear saree and it has a thick fabric that is effortless to wash and preserve. The checks, stripes and borders within the body of the Guntur saree are precisely done with a gold-coloured thread. Most of the tribal-inspired designs and patterns are done with a simple thread.
The Guntur saree is said to be one of the most comfortable and elegant saree, along with the fact that it has high durability. This saree is traditionally worn by the women in Guntur and throughout Andhra Pradesh, especially in the coastal areas, because of its authoritative patterns that are simple yet flamboyant. The Guntur saree is especially worn for dance programmes as they are less translucent and available in a plethora of vibrant colours and extremely easy to maintain.
History and Origin of Guntur Sarees
Andhra Pradesh is famous for many things, one of the most prominent being the Saree. The city of Guntur is world-renowned for the production of two unique and appealing sarees. They are the Guntur Sarees and the Mangalgiri Sarees. Both of them are manufactured almost in the same manner and hence these sarees are nearly identical. Guntur is also known for its excellent and hardworking craftsmen who are immensely skilled in creating unique patterns through their weaving and dyeing.
There is no known story behind the creation of the Guntur saree, but it is well known that it has been an absolute must for the women of the coastal areas and classical dancers.
What is a Guntur Saree?
Guntur Saree is a style of saree that is woven by the skilled craftsmen of Guntur. These are one of the finest cotton sarees and these sarees are known for their single colours and patterns throughout the body of the saree.
These sarees have distinctive tribal patterns that include a distinct Ikat style of weaving in the form of checks and stripes that adds beauty to the contemporary outfit and provides comfort and endurance to the saree. The border design of the Guntur saree is tapered and the Pallu is not that glossy as it includes sparse Bhuttis or flower adornments and stripes, although there are sarees that are available in unique and fine Ikats as well.
The Guntur sarees can be found in a wide variety of vibrant and beautiful colours such as burgundy wine maroon, blood red, ink black, basil green, copper shot maroon, pecan brown, watermelon pink, etc.
The border of the Guntur saree is perfect in length, not too big, not too small and has gorgeous motifs and designs such as sun, peacocks, swans, mangoes etc.
What is the process of weaving of Guntur Sarees?
As both the Guntur and Mangalgiri sarees originate from Guntur the process of weaving and manufacturing these sarees is nearly identical.
The raw materials required for the making of this saree includes pure cotton yarn, gold and silver coloured Zari for the design of the borders, synthetic and natural dyes, natural colours, traditional weaving loom, warping wheel, reeling machine, chakra, Sodium, Alum, Caustic acid and Dhravakam.
1) First, the cotton yarn is boiled, then soaked overnight and rinsed to remove impurities.
2) The next step involves dyeing, using bleach for white sarees and Vat for coloured ones.
3) The bleached yarn is then soaked in boiling water to remove the excess dye
4) The yarn is then dried and light colours in shades are added to the fabric.
5) After dyeing and removing the excess dye, the fabric undergoes a spinning process. A bundle of yarn is placed on a spinning wheel, commonly known as Charka. The cotton thread is reeled to various tools such as spools and the charka is turned continuously. The workers keep tying the broken strands for consistent reeling of the threads constantly. The spools are then sent for the warping process. The cotton thread is transferred onto spindles. These spindles are used to insert fly-shuttle for processing weft during weaving.
6) The next process is called warping, which is one of the special and most important processes in the making of Guntur sarees. The warping is usually done in the streets during the early morning, in order to ensure that the colour of the yarn does not fade.
First, the multiple spools are attached to the warping wheel, and then the yarn is reeled on the warping machine. This Process is locally called Assu. After this process, the yarn is removed from the warping wheel and tied in between two poles and stretched. Interlaces in the yarn are surveyed and the breaks are tied into a knot. Bamboo sticks are inserted between the threads into the warp, to trace intertwined cotton threads.
7) Then the yarn is starched so that the colour in the yarn becomes permanent in nature and gives the yarn a shiny appeal. This process is repeated about 15 times, which helps make the thread sturdy and durable. Starching also acts as an adhesive throughout the weaving process, that helps the thread to lock tightly. After the Starching process is completed. the yarn is then stretched and the threads of cotton are passed through the reeds and then rolled on an iron rod, which is then locked into the loom to weave.
8) Then starts the process of weaving. The weaver interlaces the cotton threads of the warp. The shuttle is passed through the opening that is formed when the pedal is operated to lock the threads of the warp. The artist then uses a variety of multi-coloured contrasting threads while weaving in order to create patterns and designs. Then the woven saree is wounded to the wooden beam, which is located in front of the weaver. After the 6 yards of fabric are woven, the part of the warp that is unwoven is deliberately left and after the completion of the weaving process of the saree, it is later knotted for fringe. To complete the entire process, it takes about 2 to 3 days, just to complete one saree.
8) The woven saree is then cut according to the requirement and folded.
9) The saree is then inspected for any irregularities or flaws in weaving, designs or patterns.
Because of the simplicity and unique style of the Guntur saree, these sarees have now become heartthrob for all women alike. The sturdy material of the fabric, the simple yet elegant appeal, the beautiful motifs and that overall sober look tempt any woman into draping themselves up in these gorgeous Guntur sarees.
The price of a Guntur saree ranges from INR 400- INR 5000, depending on the customization and the traditional tribal design patterns.
These sarees can now be found in all the saree centres across the nation as well as on e-commerce websites such as Flipkart, Mirraw, India mart etc.
Simplicity is the most ravishing and appealing form of beauty that is eternal and these sarees are a reflection of exactly that.