Project Varanasi for designer Gaurang Shah

VARANASI-the melting pot

Varanasi or Benaras as is widely known ,boasts of numerous accolades, one of being a temple city, the holiest of all, for it is believed to be created by Shiva himself ignited as a Jyotirling named Kashi Vishwanath with the Mighty Ganga framing a picturesque landscape along the city.Apart from its religious attributes this place also celebrates a perfect harmony between its hindu and muslim population with its innumerable age-old temples and mosques.The special Magai Paan, the tiny lanes with non-plastered brick houses echoing the synchronizing sounds of the shuttles and beat up in the process of weaving  the famous  benarasi sari,the unruly traffic with unbearable noises created by two-wheelers,autos,cycle rickshaws and the equally competing pedestrians, are the compelling forces behind the energy engulfing benaras and its people.  

However , the place is famous worldover more as the birthplace of the beautiful benarasi sarees which are brocaded textiles accentuated with pure silk and pure zari. The beauty of a Benarasi saree is to be rejoiced forever-a proud possession in your wardrobe, an epitome of classic elegance. Believed to have been originated much before the Mughal era with archived traces of it during Indus valley civilization, the present day form of it brocaded with zari roots its connection to the Kinkhabs. Nonetheless the legacy maintained by the weaver community of Varanasi through their skilled craftsmanship and ardent desire to sustain this art form is very spectacular. The efforts made by Gaurang to revive this form of art and the challenges taken up by him to bring back the age old traditional methods of weaving into it is incredible and the journey to creating that magic in his benarasis is even more interesting. Our first glance at a beautiful Benarasi saree undountedbly leaves us spellbound for its beauty and secondly for the weaver’s skill but less do we know about the cumbersome ,time consuming and highly labour oriented process that goes behind its creation.

The technicality : The metamorphosis of a silk yarn into a benarasi sari starts with the twisting of 2 kora yarns (resham) to get a 2 ply yarn (katan) using a Charkha and various such katan bobbins(anta) twine around a giant wheel creating the warp sheet. The yarns get wrapped in a particular criss-cross manner (saati) which helps in their detanglement while weaving. Usually 5500-6000 warp yarns creates the breadth of 45”-48” of a saree while Gaurang’s Benarasis uses 8000-9000 yarns  which determines the quality of his sarees. The warp sheet then goes for bleaching and dyeing respectively which is a tricky process and requires a keen understanding of temperature and dyes to get the exact shade of color otherwise which  might spoil or create patchiness. This is again a legacy carried out by few families only.The dried hanks are then unwinded in an open field and the yarns are separated one by one through the various Saatis with the help of wooden sticks(Sakara) while winding(Lapetan). While a warp sheet consists of the length of 7-8 sarees, Gaurang’s sarees have a warp sheet of just 2 sarees and yet takes longer time because multiple color combinations and yarn varieties are used in a single sari. The process of Kadiyal  is an interesting but laborious process revived by Gaurang , to get multiple solid colors in the same sari which means using different base wefts by intertwining them in a single lift.While doing a single kadiyal itself is quite cumbersome and requires a skilled weaver with  proper training, Gaurang now takes up the challenge of doing 5 kadiyals in a single sari to give his clients the best of varied sophistication and has undoubtedly risen the much needed applaud for benarasi sarees which was lost in recent times with the mushroom growth of power looms, stale designs and lack of technical variety.After the warp is shedded , it is rolled onto the weavers beam(tudh). Because of our incorporation of different yarn variety for kadiyal, 2 weavers beam are fitted unlike 1 beam which is generally used.The brocade designs are made into graphs by the artist manually. Punch cards(dapti) are made studying the graph design. While a local benarasi is made from 15,000-20,000 cards at maximum, Gaurang’s sarees sometimes uses upto 56,000 cards which determines his design intricacy and very less repeats or no repeats at all(a single card is for a single pick or weft).Tani-jorna with the process of drafting and denting is when the warp sheet is ready to be woven with the fitting of weavers beams(tudh), fitting of jacquards (2-3 jacquards in our sarees unlike just 1 machine for the local benarasis), passing of yarns through various shafts and heald eyes ( fanni,getwa, kahari, pagiya,naka) etc.The tillis and the weft shuttle bobbins are also processed and winded  up from hanks using the Charkha. The process of weaving by the weaver(bunkar) follows with playing around with as many as 50-60 different colored tillis/small shuttles  to create the colorful magnificent Benarasis unlike the local Benarasis which uses just one extra weft shuttle(sirki) for brocading which justifies the time required in weaving a gaurang’s saree sometimes goes upto an year.

When the handloom industry was doomed into oblivion over its declining demand and competition from power loom fabrics like polyester, Georgette which had already caused an irreparable damage to its glory, it was a big bold attempt by Gaurang to create awareness about a real benarasi saree breaking the stereotypical mindsets against it. Payments to weavers were often not made immediately and were exploited to a greater extent. Increasing prices of pure raw material and quicker and cheaper  methods of production was a key concern for the handloom weavers who were having a tough time in maintaining their livelihood amidst the threats harboring them in their sincere efforts towards preserving the authentic benarasi sarees. Curbing all these fears of the weavers and with an honest aim to revive the age old beauty of the Benarasis, Gaurang came forward.The weavers are happy for they now are paid there right dues before time and hence try exhibiting the best of their skills too. The challenges are increasing for them but they are giving in their best through rigorous training by the master weaver which sometimes goes upto 6 months. While the first toughest challenge for them was to incorporate two yarn variety in the same warp sheet like organza body with silk border and weaving them with the process of kadiyal, they are now quite apt with it and are effortlessly incorporating much higher levels of intricacies. Gaurang’s undying venture in presenting various interesting avatars of the Benarasis led him to infuse the old motifs and layouts of kancheepuram and chettinad sarees in benarasis in bright color palette with contrast color combinations, rudraksh butas, big temple borders, chequered body, geometric pattern,different yarn varieties in the same sari which created quite a rave last year. The replication of the very symbolic paithani patterns in benarasi looms which was hitherto impossible before was woven with acute fineness and detailing which left even the weavers of Paithan spellbound .The challenge they are undergoing now is the incorporation of other yarns like linen, matka etc and incorporating newer technicalities to create intricate motifs and layout inspired from the elegant metal art of bidri with subtle color palette and tone on tone colors for body and border of the sari.

Besides using interesting color combination, yarn combination , motifs like big floral butas on border,Mughal butis,geometric pattern etc as his trademark style all efforts are also being made to revive the oldest and finest of the 18^th-19^th century Benarsis in bright solid colors like red,pink,purple, antique finish zari, intricate work , weaving techniques like Tanchoi, motifs like tiny creepers, big intricate kalkas in the corners,foliage and geometric patterns mostly diamond designs placed in rows and columns in border and pallu which were the essence of real Benarasis.

With the perfect amalgamation of Gaurang’s innate sensibility and the weavers’ acute finesse, the transformation of our Benarasis is only going to get better and bigger in the coming times.