What makes the script of India’s textiles so fascinating is its spotlight on their deep links to antiquity— and also, their unique regional footprint across the length and breadth of the subcontinent.
Traces of India’s ancient weaving traditions have been discovered amongst the archeological remains of the Indus Valley Civilization also known as the Harappan Civilization, which started flourishing around 2600 B.C and went into decline around 1800 BCE. The civilization was first identified in 1921 at Harappa in the Punjab region and later in 1922 at Mohenjodaro nestling by the Indus River in the Sindh region. These were the two major sites of the legendary civilisation.
Farmers in the Indus Valley were the first to spin and weave cotton, as deduced by archaeologists, who in 1929 came upon fragments of cotton textiles at the urban centre of Mohenjodaro dating to between 3250 and 2750 BCE. Imprints of weaves were also recovered from Harappa. Spinning of wool was also a common activity. India’s Vedic treatises (dating between 1500 and 1200 BCE) also make references to cotton spinning and weaving. An interesting reference is to something called hiranya, which is cloth made of gold.
Centuries-old traditions of handwoven textiles made from cotton, silk and wool have left their impress in foreign lands from ancient times. Amongst the major centres, for silk for example, were Banaras, Surat, Chanderi, Murshidabad, Mysore, Assam, Kancheepuram, Tanjore.
India’s hand-woven textiles got a beating with the arrival of the British and their thrust on machine -made fabrics. In the 90s the likes of purists such as culture divas Kamladevi Chattopadhya and Pupul Jayakar made a heroic effort to change the narrative on the world stage by putting the spotlight on India’s handwoven skills.
The resounding success of the Festivals of India, which travelled to several countries, was a clarion call to Indian designers to go back to their precious native legacies of hand-spun, hand-woven textiles. Today the global celebs, fashionistas and the well-heeled storm the ramps and the Red Carpet, showcasing our textiles and their fantastic variety the world over.
Streams of unique designs, printing and dyeing techniques, embroideries, applique work and the like have emerged from different geographies in India to leave their impress on Indian textiles.
The fantastic block printing in veg dyes from Sanganer and Bagru in Rajasthan, the brocade and zari work from Varanasi and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, the delectable organzas from Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, the Ikat work from Odisha, the rich Kanjivaram silks from the Tamil Nadu in the south, the Naga shawls with their distinctive motifs from the Northeast, the Jamdani weaves from West Bengal, the vibrant phulkari embroideries of the Punjab— each one has a unique story to tell.
The India textile story is a mean machine of traditions and skills. It’s a voice that captures and captivates the listener as a window to centuries-old community cultures in one of the most exotic lands on Planet Earth.