The splendour of South silk sarees
Kavitha Nair

WITH the onset of the festive season, silk sarees tend to top the shopping list of every woman in India. The options she has are many and varied — from the gorgeous Kanjeevarams and breathtaking Banarsis to the lustrous, tried and tested paithanis, mekhlas, ashavalis, dhakais and so on.

To the discerning wearer, these names are traditionally associated with the places where the sarees originate from and are recognised by their distinctive weave and texture, colour, border width and pattern, motifs used and, above all, a timeless heritage each saree represents.

But then, while there are loyalists for every variety, one saree that holds a spellbinding appeal for every Indian woman — transcending age, religion and regional affiliation — is the Kanjeevaram. A Gujarati is as comfortable in a Kanjeevaram as a Bengali, Punjabi, Maharashtrian, Tamilian or Malayalee.

Originating from the temple town of Kanchipuram, this six-yard silk splendour is what connoisseurs describe as the ‘queen of all sarees’. The town has been a reputed silk weaving and trading centre since ancient times, but it is more famous to present-day tourists as the abode of Goddess Kamakshi.

Kanchipuram’s pre-eminence in silk weaving can be attributed to the royal patronage extended by the dynasties of the Pallavas (seventh century), Cholas (11th century) and the Rayas of Vijayanagar (15th century) who ruled from the city. The Pular river too has a contribution as its waters are said to give the dyed fabric its characteristic lustre.

Unlike North Indian silks, which are largely influenced by architectural patterns of the Sultanate period and Mughal settlers, Kanjeevarams are intrinsically indigenous and initially drew heavily upon the skills of Gujarati weavers who migrated from their homeland due to natural disasters like famine and drought.

The Madras census report of 1891 attributes the origin of the Kanjeevaram silk tradition to the migration of Gujarati weavers at the invitation of Chola King Raj Raja 1 (985-1014 A.D.). Later, weaving communities of the Devangas and Saligars moved in during the reign of Emperor Krishna Deva Raya of Vijaynagar (1509-1529), who was a known patron of the arts.

The traditional sarees of Kanchipuram had a fine cotton ‘ground’ with silk and zari border and pallu. Their patterns display a predominance of bird and animal motifs and the rich gold-brocaded pallus and borders had patterns of rows of deer, peacocks, galloping horses, bulls, elephants, parrots, swans and such other birds in stylised abstraction.

Even mythical creatures find place in the patterns. One such is the yali, bearing a lion’s head and a bird’s body. Another is a combination of a swan and a peacock (often the tail of the peacock takes the form of a decorative carrie), which, incidentally, is a common South Indian motif found in other artifacts.

The two-headed eagle (an ancient Mesopotamian motif) was the royal insignia of the Mysore state and took the shape of a ganda bherunda, yet another popular South Indian motif. In Vedic literature, the two-headed eagle is often referred to as ubhayatah shrishni or dvishrishni suparni, symbolising power.

Some borders have shapes of rudraksha, kodivisiri (floral patterns contained within two parallel lines) and diamond formations. Yet another recurring motif is the mayilkan (peacock’s eye), often adapted into a kuyikan, or nightingale’s eye!

Now compare these to the decorations on North Indian silks with grape vines, palmettes, cones, pomegranates, circles and other interlocking geometric patterns predominating. The zigzag borders, floral swirls and lace/net motifs are direct lifts from the arabesque, trellises and calligraphic decorations from ancient weaving workshops in Syria, Egypt, Turkey and Persia.

This is, however, not to suggest that there has not been any interaction between weavers from the South and the North. Two Rajasthani compositions of the 17th century Kapada Chintani and Kapada Kutahal (written in Brij Bhasha) carry detailed accounts of how skilled persons from Kanchipuram and Masulipattam gifted what was described as dakhani cheer (fabrics of the South) to the Rajput royalty.

The Chinese pilgrim Hieun Tsang received similar gifts from the Pallavas court. And in 1516 A.D., the Portuguese traveller Durate Barbosa was gifted a "silk brocade coat studded with diamonds and rubies by the Raya king’ when he docked at the port of Pulicut.

Significantly, it was not only at Kanchipuram, but also at several other weaving centres in South India like Salem, Tanjore, Kumbakonam and Trichnapally where silk sarees were woven. Although there’s not much to distinguish between them, each bears a history that goes back by almost 2000 years. — MF