Kota Doria: The Craft that originated from Kota

Kota Doria is woven in a small town named Kaithoon in the Kota district of Rajasthan. Kaithoon is the major hub, but some other clusters of Kota Doria production can also be found in the villages of Baran, Bundu and Kota. It is a light woven fabric and can be distinguished by its eminent tiny squares (known as Khats) handwoven on pit looms.

The name Kota Doria is a combination of 2 words, Kota comes from the name of the place and Doria means threads.

History of Kota Doria

Many stories revolve around the origin of this fabric. But the most famous one is the one associated with Rao Kishore Singh.

Kota Doria was originally called Kota Masuriya as they had originated in Mysore and the weavers were called Masuria. In the late 17th century, the weavers were brought to Kota by Rao Kishore Singh, who was then a general of Shahjahan’s army.

Kota Masuriya used to be woven in a narrow loom, of about 8 inches in width to produce the traditional turban (Paagh). Later on, it was produced on the broader loom to make sarees. They added silk to cotton in a 20:80 ratio approx to provide strength to the saree, becoming the usual cotton silk blend Kota Doria saree. This fabric was considered auspicious and was adored on many religious occasions.

What is the Making process of Kota Doria?

Materials Used 

Cotton and Mulberry silk yarns are used in the production for the base of the Kota Doria saree whereas gold and silver zari yarns are used for the extra warp and weft designing.

The strength and suppleness of the fabric are provided by the cotton yarn, while the transparent and delicate nature comes from the silk yarns.

Weaving

Kota Doria weaving has been a household activity. In Kaithoon, at least one pit loom can be found in every house. Even though all the family members are involved in the production process of these sarees, it is mainly handled by the women of the house.

The steps of making a Kota Doria saree involve:

• Winding – It is the process of transferring yarn from the hanks onto a bobbin for warp and a pirn for weft.
• Warping – It is the process of obtaining the length of the warp that is predetermined and having the desired number of threads. It is needed for the complete width of the fabric.
• Dyeing – If needed, the yarns are dyed (or coloured) manually by dipping them in hot dye. Utensils are filled with hot water mixed with dye.
• Sizing – It is required mainly in cotton and is done to impart strength to the yarn. The juice of locally available wild onion and a thin rice paste (maandi) are used for this purpose.
• Drafting-Denting – To produce the checks or Khat along with the weft, each cotton and silk thread is drafted through double clasped country cotton heald (Ranch) and dented through dents of bamboo or steel reed (Fani) in a particular pattern.
• Piecing – Drafting and denting of individual threads is time-consuming, therefore an alternative method is used known as piecing. In this method, each new thread of the warp is tied to the corresponding thread of the previous leftover warp.
• Weaving – It is done very skillfully on the pit looms by the throw shuttle technique, producing an almost uniform size of the Khat or the check pattern.
• Designing – The designs are usually made with extra warp and weft techniques. They are first made on graph paper and then woven on the fabric.

What are the types of Kota Doria?

There is no variety as such when it comes to the base fabric, but there are varieties when it comes to the embellishment of the saree. There are three different styles available:

• Plain or Basic – These sarees have checks mainly made of a slightly rough cotton texture or sometimes just simple golden threads.
• Printed – To give the Kota Doria sarees a fresh look, block printing is a new technique that has been adopted to adorn them.
• Zari – These are used to weave different motifs and designs on the fabric using the extra warp and weft technique, giving it a more stylish and graceful appearance.

What makes Kota Doria Unique?

• The Kota Doria is one of the finest open weave fabrics in India.
• A recognizing characteristic of Kota Doria is the Khats giving it a unique squared or checkered pattern.
• In summers, this lightweight and supremely airy fabric is a preferable choice, especially for Indian housewives.
• It is very comfortable and requires very little maintenance, making it one of the favourite choices of the traditional as well as the new population.
• The combination of cotton and silk makes the final product both soft and strong. Cotton is used to provides strength and firmness, while silk provides transparency and lustre.
• There are about 300-350 Khats across the width of a good quality Kota Doria saree.
• The surface of the fabric is mostly designed with beautiful borders and with buttis or floral patterns. Though, the designs are not very prominent due to the checkered background.
• The Kota Doria sarees are known for their high yarn count. But, Kota is also known for the production of fine count cotton. The presence of the Chambal river makes the air moisture-laden, contributing to the production of fine count cotton.

Price of Kota Doria Sarees

An original handwoven Kota Doria saree starts from about Rs. 1100/piece.

How to Maintain Kota Doria Sarees?

• It is not a very high maintenance fabric as it is made of cotton. The normal hand wash is enough for them.

What is the Current Scenario of Kota Doria Sarees?

• There are about 2500 families in various districts of Kota who still practice the craft and keeping it alive even with the declining trend of manufacturing this fabric.
• The power-loom Kota Doria sarees produced in Varanasi, Kolkata and China is slowly killing the handloom industry. A handloom woven saree takes about two and a half months to weave and is expensive, whereas a power-loom would produce about 20 sarees in a single day.
• The GI (Geographical Indication) mark has been awarded to the Kota Doria products made on a handloom to distinguish them from power-loom products. Yet, somehow most of the people do not have any knowledge about it.
• The craft faces stiff competition from fake products as well as other crafts such as Maheshwari weaving.
• The original handloom saree price starts from about Rs. 1100/ piece whereas a fake power-loom made piece ranges anywhere between Rs 250-1500/ piece.
• The weavers still use the traditional marketing method such as doorbelling or selling them to retail shops. They are unaware of the seasonal demand in Kaithun.
• The weavers still need policy protection and better marketing opportunity to promote and sell their products internationally and to augment their income.

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