Know your Paithani, Dear Maushi

Dear Maushi,

This letter has long been pending and I thought today being the first National Handloom Day is an appropriate day to write. Thank you to GOI for marking such a day!

Firstly, I must tell you that you really boast my ego when you send pictures of your recently developed art and craft products or newly bought saree for my review! I feel that my little enthusiasm for textiles has seeped into the family as well. It is a nice feeling!

About a month back you shared some images of a Paithani saree you were gifted. Thank God it was a gift and you did not spend your earnings into that fake Paithani! But I feel depressed about the whole scenario that the person who bought it had no knowledge that she is buying a fake one and moreover the person who sold it is also unknown or has misguided purposely.  I know it is very difficult for a lay man to know the difference between the authentic and fake especially in the market today where there is a duplicate of almost everything. Polyester is sold as silk, print is sold as ikat and a jacquard is sold as paithani!

This is not Paithani!

Photographs sent on whats app by Mihir. 

I remember ajji’s paithani that you have. What a beauty she is! The fine interlacing of silk and pure gold… indeed a rate treasure!

As you know the most promising part in a paithani is its pallu decorated with motifs of peacocks, parrots, lotus’ amongst others and peacock being the most favourite. It will also be nice to know and acknowledge the tedious labour involved in the making of it, the skilled craftsmanship and the tradition which has seen centuries turn by.

Here are some pictures of making of the paithani, though these make no justice until the process is described in detail. But I do not intend to convert this letter into a thesis on Paithani!

 

 Photographs by Haris Pathirikodan at Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Unlike the rosogulla that is going through a debate on whether the GI rights are to be claimed by West Bengal or Orissa, the Maharashtrian Paithani has received its GI rights long back in 2010. These rights not only confirm the geographical area but also the historical origin, appropriate process of making and uniqueness of the craft.

The weaving of a paithani is such that it can be woven only on a handloom and not on a power loom.  It is difficult to give a brief explanation. So here are some basic specifics by which you can identify an authentic paithani:

1.     The motifs on the pallu have same color on the front and back side

2.     The pallu is a flat and even surface. No variation in thickness.

3.     No threads at the back side of the pallu are cut.

Traditionally, a paithani sari has motifs woven on the border and pallu both.  Keeping in mind affordability, revisions have been made where the motifs appear only on the pallu.

When you buy a traditional handloom saree, you not just buy a piece of cloth; you invest in the age old heritage of India and you sustain the second largest employment sector of our country. Isn’t that a wonderful feeling already?

Hope this letter inspires you enough to share the idea of identifying, buying  and using authentic traditional handwoven textiles.

Ending this letter with a poem by the weaver-poet Kabir

Weaving Your Name

I weave your name on the loom of my mind,

To make my garment when you come to me.

My loom has ten thousand threads

To make my garment when you come to me.

The sun and moon watch while I weave your name;

The sun and moon hear while I count your name.

These are the wages I get by day and night

To deposit in the lotus bank of my heart.

I weave your name on the loom of my mind

To clean and soften ten thousand threads

And to comb the twists and knots of my thoughts.

No more shall I weave a garment of pain.

For you have come to me, drawn by my weaving,

Ceaselessly weaving your name on the loom of my mind.

Love,

Aarti