The timeless legacy of heirloom saris revisited at this Delhi exhibition

The exhibition ‘Heirloom Sarees: The Glory of India’s Woven Heritage’ at Delhi’s India International Centre is organised by the Delhi Crafts Council (DCC) to celebrate 25 years of the popular ‘Sarees of India’ showcase, this presentation features 40 heirlooms loaned from private collections that are at least 50 to 75 years old.

The sari (also spelt as saree) has a chequered history. While some say its origin dates to the 1st Century; others trace it to the Indus Valley civilisation that flourished between 2800 and 1800 BC. Over time, this unstitched garment has taken on different forms and drapes, leaving us with remnants of our once-rich textile heritage.

This realisation struck me while walking through the exhibition Heirloom Sarees: The Glory of India’s Woven Heritage l at Delhi’s India International Centre. Organised by the Delhi Crafts Council (DCC) to celebrate 25 years of the popular Sarees of India showcase, this presentation features 40 heirlooms loaned from private collections that are at least 50 to 75 years old.

“The idea behind the exhibition is to educate and document traditions, since most of these saris are no longer woven. The reasons are diverse and include raw material unavailability, diminishing weaving skills, astronomical prices, and of course a change in sensibilities,” says Purnima Rai, former president of DCC.

Once you enter the art gallery at the Kamaladevi complex in IIC, a set of brocaded Paithani saris command your attention. Purples and pinks dominate the colour palette, while the body of the sari is either left plain or has butties all over in zari. Traditionally, these saris were draped in kacchi style, similar to how a dhoti is worn.

Within this set, you will also find a special design with large roundels, which gets its name from the town Aarmoor in present-day Telangana.

The temple saris of Tamil Nadu are equally rich, woven with heavily plied thick silk yarn. The broad borders are attached to the body with the korvai technique, which requires two or more weavers to handle the shuttle of the loom. “It was a challenging feat to select a limited number of saris from what turned out to be a surprisingly large and diverse collection generously loaned to us,” Purnima informs.

While weaving centres like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are more prominent today, not many are aware of Odisha’s exquisite khandua saris made with the softest malda silk. A creation, with woven calligraphic verses of the Gita Govinda, is striking.A collection note suggests it was a specialty of the weavers of Nau Patna.