Banarasi Sarees are one of the finest saris in India. As we watched a weaver weave a Banarasi Patola Sari in pure silk at his pit loom and another weaver weave a Chiffon suit with Banarasi silver weave we couldn’t help but wonder how precisely the gift is passed from generation to generation. Our walk through the narrow lanes of Lallapura Banaras opened our eyes to this door-to-door family home setups, producing Banarasi fabric known world over. As they say, a weaver is nothing but an artist.
The classic Banarasi sari was born after the craftsmen migrated from Persia during the Mughal Times to Banaras. Today, this cottage industry at Lallapura Banaras has beautifully merged the handloom that gives freedom to the weavers to rectify the errors as he watches over it every time to Power-loom which is the need of the the hour with increasing supply and demand. First, a motif is drawn in a 1 X 4 or 2 X4 measurement. The same motif is then enlarged into a graph paper in the ratio of 1 x 20. And based on the design on the graph paper a punch card is created. They use the punch graph which has the design and the designs are set according to the punches or holes in the pattern graph which felt to us similar to how ancient computers would work. Isn’t it impressive? First its weaved using a method of warp and weft also known as Tana Bana, then the extra thread or floats are cut, and finally finishing is done for the final product.
The transition from Handloom to Power loom has given us best of both worlds. In many homes, both the looms are kept. The area of concern is how to revive the interest in the upcoming generation who is already looking for alternative form of revenue. Lack of direct funds to the weaver is one of the many causes. There are actually many blockages to the direct process of supply and chain without the middlemen involved. Many weavers come from poor households and are barely educated, and hence self marketing gets difficult. Also, most weavers live in narrow lanes or small portion of the city, which is not conducive to the export driven market of Banarasi Fabric. The bank also does not finance or gives loans without much return assurance. In case the weaver fail to return, they have to give penal interest. To know more issues and the method of how Banarasi is done and marketed, one can visit the Weavers service center at Chaukaghaat.
