Mark Twain once famously described Benaras as "older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together". Our small collection of saris pays homage to this magnificent city and its rich tradition of craftsmanship. The saris in this collection are woven in the thriving weaving cluster of Bazardiha in Banaras. In the Bazardiha area of Varanasi, there is a community of over 1,000 weaver families who support each other with rations, loans, and orders from bulk buyers, ensuring that everyone has work.
Our journey through the narrow lanes of Bazardiha led us to the modest home of weaver Kaleem, where three pit looms dominate the space. We provide the design, raw materials, and wages, and in return, Kaleem weaves exquisite saris that meet our specifications. These beautiful saris are woven in humble spaces, yet the joy and happiness of creating them stand in stark contrast to the challenges faced by the craft in these clusters. In recent decades, many local artisans have been dismayed by the shift to machine-operated power looms, which has threatened the livelihood of handloom weavers. The fear of cheaper, mass-produced artificial silk saris and synthetic Chinese yarn replacing the traditional pure silk and zari threads adds to their concerns. While a machine can produce three to four saris a day, by hand, it can take anywhere from a week to several months, depending on the intricacy and level of detail in the embroidery.
Our current project is dedicated to producing pure silk organza saris with original designs using 3-ply kora mulberry silk (20-22 denier) on warp and weft, sourced from Karnataka. The zari used in these saris can be customized based on client preferences. We offer the options of these designs done is copper zari electoplated with silver wrapped on a single cotton strand or pure zari (silver electoplated with gold). These saris are woven using a 112 reed on a jacquard-assisted pit loom. It takes about 18 days to produce each sari, and we have been privileged to keep these looms running since early 2021.