Sumana Bhattacharya
Revival Golani Baluchari Silk: Bringing Back Long-Lost Weaves of India
Today, let me take back to the pages of history through this article.
Textile tradition of the old bengal was quite popular, it was rooted above all other in skilled weaving of delicate muslins, folk/epic embroideries on the quilts and finest hand woven silks. And these include malmals and jamdanis of Dacca and the Baluchar brocade sarees of Murshidabad were prized possessions.
The name Baluchari is derived from the village of Baluchar, situated on the banks of the river Bhagirathi, in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. It was highly patronized by Murshid Kuli Khan in the early 18th century. The silks woven in Baluchar region has ‘Naksha’ means pattern, designed separately on the loom.
Speaking on the origin of Baluchari, without the mentioning of Dubraj, its origin is incomplete. Mia Jaan, Dubraj Das, Hemchandra Bhattacharjee and Gostha Karmakar were the designers and weavers who pioneered in creating the Baluchari sarees. They inherited the traditional expertise of their families which eventually achieved fame at the hands of men like Mia Jan and his disciple Dubraj Das.
Moreover, Murshidabad at that time was already known for sericulture, due to the supreme quality of the silk produced in the region. It became a flourishing centre for trade and commerce where Jain traders, nobles and craftsmen came to settle.
Factors that led to the downfall of the craft
All thanks to the industrial Revolution in the 19th century and possibly destroyed the traditional craft industries in this region of British India. With time, machinery became a great threat to the skilled handloom weavers and as well as other design-intensive crafts of India. Adding to this unfortunate situation was the deaths of master craftsmen who had failed to transfer their traditional skills and knowledge to their next generations.
Above all there was crass commercialism, an insensitive urge to modernize and globalize and contrarily as well as ironically over enthusiasm on the part of “culture vultures”. Instead of reflecting on culture care, their urge led to consumerism — an excessive urge to capitalize on ethnicity which resulted in starvation deaths, suicides. As the demand was small, the artisans remained as their own master; they were able to pay and bear their own expenses in replenishing raw material, replacing or repairing their tools and most importantly were free to make their own decisions.
But in a competitive world of the traditional weavers as the demand rose, the scale of production also increased and expanded, and the families became exclusively absorbed in weaving Baluchari for sustenance.
The popularity of the fabric that looked like silk along with eye catching finish and European elegance of pattern led to the decrease in demand for pure silk. The colorful and full figured saree was now considered to be clumsy. The Indians who prefer wearing sarees were now slowly getting accustomed to the western fashion; sarees with dull colours and less of detailing were being preferred over the rich and intricate and colorful ones.
The inland trades of the Berhampore silk and silk products were completely reliant on the requirement of the Hindu ceremonies, unfortunately the advent of the British, the usage of foreign silk, pure cotton, jute or woolen articles resulted in the gradual reduction of the demand for indigenous Baluchari.
From Telegraph India: The Making of Baluchari Sari captured by My Kolkata YouTube Channel
Shifting of the Industry of Baluchari Silks to Bishnupur
Initially with the death of the last member Dubraj, the art of weaving of Baluchari sarees in Murshidabad died. Only a few specimens were retained by some of the aristocratic families. Subhogendra Thakur better known as Subho Thakur, inherited some of the masterpieces of Baluchari sarees, and was totally moved by the skills and beauty of the sarees and this energized him to move forward for their revival.
The challenge to weave Baluchari was given to the master weavers of Gujarat and South India but eventually their performance was not to the desired level and thus rejected. Akshay Kumar Das with the association of the Chief Organizer of the Silk Khadi Seva Mandal, Sri Hanuman Das Sharda, the Baluchari weaving and its revival was initiated in Bishnupur.
The inspirations for the motifs during Revival started drawing inspiration from:
1. terracotta tiled temples built by the Mallya Kings and the folk tales prevalent in the region of Bishnupur and Bankura
2. depiction of Ramayana, ‘SitaHaran’ and ‘Uttar Ramayana’ served as the most prominent themes
3. from Mahabharata, ‘Subhadra-Haran’ and ‘Rasleela’ were popular
4. other prevalent themes are ‘Shahjahan and his Peacock Throne’, or like a village scene, dancing girls, marriage ceremony, peacock motif, Bankura horses, nawabs, ‘Hawda-Hathi’ and ‘Nauka-Bilash’ (boat ride)
5. the famous temples of Mallya Kings are the major source of inspiration for motifs such as the ‘Rasmancha’, ‘Jorbangla’ and the ‘Madan Mohan’ structures
6. historical events are also often depicted e.g., ‘Dalmadal’ (canon used by Mallya King Gopal Singh against the Maratha commander Bhaskar Rao), ‘Madan Mohan’ (Lord Krishna) carrying the Bishnupur fortress in one hand with a canon at his feet
7. body comprising of ‘butis’ are made of stylized flower, ambis, Bankura horse, Garudh and lady in sitting pose and many geometric designs
8. the leaf, the flower and the animal serve as the three major motifs. All the motifs fall into these three categories
Special Collections: Revival of 18th Century Golani Baluchari
18th century revival is on high note since this last century. They have brought back the Baluchari sarees known for its intricate designs and figurative motifs that highlight the border, the anchal or the end piece and the body and stories are depicted on and within them through the finest of brocade weave.
Revival to some people means a patch of darning that could keep a fraying garment from falling apart. But have you heard about Revival Golani Baluchari? I bet most of you have not heard about it. it is a whole new weave depicting life, a living, and it's ultimately a talking fabric. The Revival Baluchari saree has been given an enhanced set of ways to find its rightful status.
The motifs used in the Mughal periods were a combination of floral and figurative motifs and had a unique tradition where the motifs were subjected to a constant change. The motifs were outlined with a different colour and later were filled in by another color.
Also it is a Revival of Motif & Colors
The weavers drew inspiration from the daily life, social events, Mughal court scene, British culture and other significant events. One of the extensively used motif was the kalka or paisley or the mango motif, ‘nawab smoking a hookah’, ‘nawab smelling a rose’, ‘begum with a hookah’, ‘begum with a rose’, ‘nawab riding a horse’, ‘hunting scene’, ‘nawab on elephant’, also various motifs where Europeans were shown riding a steamboat, riding railway carriages, etc.
The color palette was limited only to a handful of number of colors and which were mixed to bring few more shades. The most widely exercised ones were indigo blue, dark shade of indigo blue, red, magenta, purple, yellow, orange, and chocolate. Though black was a prevalent colour but black vegetable dye was not available. In order to achieve the desired black shade, the cloth was sometimes dyed several times in dark indigo or chocolate shade.
However, bringing alive those work is a real masterpiece in itself. The USPs of these sarees are:
1. Every Baluchari has stories to tell.
2. Each saree comes with elaborate and intricate detailing on the pallu and the borders of the saree.
3. Intricate designs that often depict scenes from ancient epics and mythology.
4. The pallu usually has the paisley motif in the center.
5. Large paisley motifs are styled in many different ways to highlight the saree.
The biggest USP is, "These artistically curated collections are to find."
Hope, I have helped you to understand the rich details of the revival golani baluchari and how this long lost tradition has been revived in the last century at Bishnupur itself.
The fabric is also taken care by keeping it katan silk variety but with silk marks. However, the use of colors and the motifs went through complete revival and brining back the masterpiece foundation laid by Dubraj Das and his descendants and predecessors.
So if you want to add a surprise element to your wardrobe this year - shop with IndyVogue as I, Sumana Bhattacharya bring you original Revival Golani Baluchari with amazing work, shades, and details.
Author's Bio
Sumana Bhattacharya completed her Masters in Economics from the University of Calcutta & was working with the Department of Education, Govt. of West Bengal to provide training to the teachers in Government Schools. She moved to USA in 2005 after getting married & is the mother of 2 kids. She is the one that drives IndyVogue every day, every hour, every minute and every second. Salute to her and her undying spirit.