Konrad sarees originate from the state of Tamil Nadu. They are mostly woven in the eastern parts of Tamil Nadu in areas like Arni, Kanchipuram, Kumbakonam, Rasipuram, Salem, Thanjavur and Thirubhuvanam. Arni is known as the birthplace of Konrad sarees. However, nowadays, places like Kumbakonam and Thanjavur have become the production hub of this craft.
They are widely known as one of the most intricate hand-woven sarees of the region. The main feature of the Konrad saree is the border. It is designed wide with exclusive designs or motifs inspired by the beautiful natural elements, flora and fauna. These delicately embellished borders are called Pettu or Kampi, positioned approximately 3 centimetres near the saree edge.
They are also known as Temple sarees or Mubbhagam sarees and are quite expensive. The commonly known Temple motif was traditionally known as the Thazampoo (Kewra) motif in Tamil Nadu.
According to some, in the 19th century, Arni was considered to be the hub of Konrad saree weaving techniques. But gradually, that role has been taken over by Kanchipuram, which is the central weaving place for all varieties of hand-woven South Indian sarees currently. Different areas have their styles and produce slight variations of the traditional Konrad saree. For example, Kumbakonam weaves the heavier type of Konrad saree with varied border patterns. While other places focus on producing the weft woven Mubbhagam saree, it includes two borders or pettu.
What are the Features of Konrad Sarees?
- The width of the borders of these sarees ranges from 10 to 14 centimetres. Popularly known as Kampior pettu, they are woven in plain colour with narrow bands of supplementary warp patterning. It is mostly positioned within 3 centimetres of the saree edge.
- In a traditional hand-woven Konrad saree, the body consists of checks or striped patterns. The end piece of the saree or the Pallu has intricate gold thread embroidery work or wide zari stripes.
- Nowadays, in some designer versions of this traditional saree, they have removed the zari at the end piece and instead have focused on the delicate patterns of gold thread done along the entire length of the saree. The Kampi (border) is also included, giving the saree a more elaborate appearance.
- However, traditional sarees will always have the woven triangular patterns or the Temple pattern (as it is commonly known). They are featured alongside weft figuring on the end piece and achieved by using a special inter-locked weft technique. The weaving of these traditional triangular motifs is known as Korvai weaving and the Konrad sarees with this work are referred to as Konrad with Korvai work.
- The colour options can range from earthen hues of greys, blacks, browns and off-white colours to several vibrant shades. Many of the Konrad sarees derive their names from the colour of their borders. For example, the Pudapayalam Karavaia saree has a yellow serrated border and the Arakku saree has a lac-dyed border.
What are the Types of Konrad sarees based on Areas?
1) Arni Silk Sarees:
Location
- Arni is a small town in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu, India, located on the banks of the Kamandala River. The place gets the name Arani or Arni from the word Araneeyam, which means a place surrounded by forests.
- This town is known for its hand-loom woven silk sarees. This place is surrounded by mountains and hills and has about 17 villages nearby. All these places are mostly known for the silk apparel that they produce. It is considered that the Mudaliars or the Sengunthar Community in these areas have been in succession with the traditional hand-loom weaving.
Uniqueness
- Softness and durability are unique features of the Arni hand-loom products, and they are known for it.
- The texture and design of the Arni silk sarees are different from Kanchipuram silk sarees. Arni silk sarees are lighter in weight, elegant for casual or formal events and make a perfect choice for travel.
- Contemporary motifs or designs similar to the ones used in the Kanchipuram silk sarees are woven with the extra warp and extra weft technique. They use pure or half fine zari having double side contrast borders.
Motifs and Design Elements
- Arni silk sarees are famous for temple borders (Thazhampoo reʼkku) and checks patterns. These are done by the technique adopted for the production of silk sarees known as Korvai weaving.
- The checkered pattern is called Kottadi checks or the Kottadis. The traditional design patterns are the checks (Kattam) and stripes (Vari) and can be found on any saree. A distinct feature of Arni sarees is finding full check patterns on saree.
- There are different sizes and varieties in Arni checks. The tiny checks are called Kasa-Kasa Kattam or khus-khus (poppy seeds). They are so small that a black and white coloured checkered pattern creates a grey tone effect. Then there are Puliyam-Kottai or tamarind seed checks which are slightly larger. And lastly, the lungi checks or Kerchip (kerchief) checks are quite large. The is another variety of checks pattern available, it is called the Paalum-Palamum Kattam or milk and fruit checks.
2) Kumbakonam, Thirubhuvanam and Thanjavur (former Tanjor)
Uniqueness
- These areas of central Tamil Nadu create mediumweight to heavyweight Konrad silks.
- These are very similar in style and the making technique of Kanchipuram; however, the end piece warps or the Pallu warps are attached to the body with different techniques.
- The Thirubhuvanam sarees use only high-quality mulberry filament silk yarns which is responsible for their high lustre and special texture.
- Traditionally, the sarees produced here have borders only on one side.
- With a distinct identity of their own and the usage of pure zari for the making of these hand-woven sarees, they end up being quite expensive.
- A speciality of Thirubhuvanam sarees is their folding or packaging. The saree is pleated and folded so that while unfolding it the pleats would fan out, giving it the name Angavastram (Visiri Madippu), making it easier for a bride to drape the saree because the folds make the pleat lines clear and visible. The bride just needs to follow these fold lines and make the pleats accordingly.
Motifs and Design Elements
- The most interesting and unique thing about a silk saree from Thanjavur is the all-over gold work that is done. Usually, these sarees have beautiful designs of the temple, the swan, the stylized lion or the tiger form on their broad Pallu.
3) Rasipuram
Location
- About 25 Km from Salem there is a place called Rasipuram and the for hundreds of years, the silk weaving tradition has been a part of this small town.
- The beautiful silk sarees woven here are known as Rasipuram Pattu. Rasipuram sarees are also commonly referred to as Salem silk.
Uniqueness
- Plain Rasipuram silk with temple border is considered to be classic wear.
- In Rasipuram sarees, the usage of zari in the pallu and the border are very less and thus, they are much lighter than Kanchipuram sarees.
- The width of these sarees can be as long as 51 inches and are woven in about 60 to 65 threads count (per square inch in warps).
Kodali Kurrupur
- These sarees are extinct now.
- Under the patronage of the Maratha ruler Serfoji Raja Bhonsle Chhatrapati II in 1787-1832, the Kodali Karuppur sarees evolved a lot. Up to the 19th century, they were exclusively made only for the Royal family members of Thanjavur.
- In the village of Kodali Kuruppur, near Kumbakonam in the Thanjavur district, these sarees were produced.
- The ancestors of the weavers who produced these sarees had about 400-500 families. They had migrated from Saurashtra to Madurai, Kanchipuram and Salem.
- The design vocabulary of the Kuruppur saree is not very elaborate, mostly linear and geometric patterns, stars, vine-like creeper designs, and the screw pine flower design (Thazhampoo).
- The few ancient samples that are left can be found in the Delhi Crafts Museum, the Calico Museum, Ahmedabad, and the Chennai Museum.
What are the Common Motifs of Konrad sarees?
- Since ancient times, flora and fauna have been a great inspiration source for designs and motifs. For many centuries, various parts of plants and trees like flowers, seeds, leaves, and sometimes even the wood and bark served as inspiration for designs and were conceptualised according to the weavers’ imaginations to be applied to the fabrics.
- Some commonly used motifs in the main body of the saree are mango (Manga), coconut (Kalasam), Beads (Rudraksham), gentle creeper (Kodi Visiri), lotus (Kamalam), Temple (Gopuram).
- The perennial favourite of craftsmen all over India is the mango motif. In South Indian sarees, mango designs are stockier and more stylized, while the Kashmiri version has longer curves retaining their characteristic shape.
- Since ancient times, The temple motif or the Thazhampoo Reku (Kewra Flower) has remained a distinct part of the Deccan weavers’ design vocabulary. The rows of large triangles, interlocked in Korvai, resemble the temple gopurams and are referred to as Mottu (flower buds) in the case of smaller triangles or Reku (a bundle of grass). If the Reku is smaller, it is known as Pillayar Moggu.