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JAMDANI

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The origin of the word jamdani is uncertain. Jamdani is a Persian term.

In Persian,' 'Jama' means cloth and 'dana', means buti or diapering.
Jamdani therefore could mean diapered cloth. It is believed that
Muslims introduced the jamdani style of weaving in Bengal. The claim
seems probable in the sense that the Muslims held the monopoly of
jamdani in Bengal for centuries both in its weaving and marketing. But
Jamdani as a fabric is considered to be much older than Muslim rule in
Bengal. The Arthasastra (about 300 AD) mentions Vanga to be the
home of a very delicate textile staff.
history
The jamdani is a fabric of fine cotton muslin of Bengali origin, with colored stripes and
patterns. Flowered Muslin became known as Jamdani, a word of Persian origin. The
word Jamdani is of origin, from 'Jam' meaning flower and 'Dani' meaning a vase or a
container.
jamdani come in the Mughal period, can be traced far back to the Maurya period (c.321185 BCE) or even earlier.
The art of Jamdani weaving is a time-consuming and labour-intensive form of fabric
production by hand on a traditional loom built with wood and bamboo and with little use
of metal. Jamdani weaving is based on the traditional knowledge and skills dating back
to the fourth century BCE. The distinguishing hallmark of Jamdani weaving is that its
designs are neither embroidered nor printed but created directly on the loom in the
process of weaving. The product from this style of weaving is called Jamdani, a highly
designed cotton fabric which owes its origin to Muslin, the finest and most transparent
cotton cloth ever woven by human hand. Of classic beauty, Jamdani effectively
combines intricacy of design with muted or vibrant colours. Jamdani is also a highly
breathable cotton cloth which brings relief to its users in the hot and humid climatic
condition of Bangladesh.
Jamdani weaving has survived and thrived due to growing popularity of Jamdani fabrics
among Bengali women both at home and abroad. Almost the entire production of
Jamdani is carried on in the form of sari, the principal dress of Bengali women. Sari is a
long flowing piece of cloth, part of it wrapped around the waist, and the remaining
climbs and flows over the shoulder. Women wear more charming or elaborately
designed Jamdani saris during festivities and on formal occasions.

The golden age of Dhaka muslin began during the Mughal rule. Since then the demand
for jamdani and muslin fabrics at home and abroad grew and this led to further
improvement in its artisanship. According to the 18th century documents of the east

india company, a high official of the company was posted at Dhaka to buy two muslin
varieties of mulmul khas and sarkar-i-ali. He had the designation of Daroga-i-mulmul.
Every foreign factory had an office, which maintained records of the best jamdani
variety. Bengal jamdani decorated the homes and wardrobes of Europe and America in
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
JAMDANI WEAVING :
In manufacturing figured (jamdani) fabrics, two weavers sit at the loom. They place the
pattern, drawn upon paper, below the warp, and range along the track of the woof a
number of cut threads equal to the flowers or parts of the design intended to be made;
and then, with two small fine-pointed bamboo sticks, they draw each of these threads
between as many threads of the warp as may be equal to the width of the figure which is
to be formed. When a lithe threads have been brought between the warp they arc drawn
close by a stroke of the lay. The shuttle is then passed by one of the weavers through tbc
shed, and the weft having been driven home, it is returned by the other weaver. Tbe
weavers resume their work with their pointed bamboo sticks, and repeat the operations
with the lay and shuttle in the manner above described, observing each time to pass the
flower threads between a greater or less number of the threads of the warp, in proportion
to the size of the design to be formed." The design is drawn on a graph paper and placed
underneath the warp. It is remarkable that the designs are never sketched or outlined on
the parent fabric. In fact some seasoned weavers dont even use the graph paper; they
insert motifs from memory! The patterns are mostly floral or geometric.

DECLINE AND FALL:

From the middle of the 19th century, there was a gradual decline in the jamdani industry.
A number of factors contributed to this decline. The subsequent import of lower quality,
but cheaper yarn from Europe, started the decline. Most importantly, the decline of
Mughal power in India, deprived the producers of jamdani of their most influential
patrons. Villages like Madhurapur and Jangalbari, (both in the Kishoreganj district),
once famous for the jamdani industry went into gradual oblivion.
According to a record of mid-19th century, the rulers and nawabs of Delhi, Lucknow,
Nepal and Murshidabad used to wear white muslin with floral jamdani designs costing
Rs 50,000. A number of causes are responsible for the decline of the jamdani and muslin
industry from the 1830s. The major factors were the industrial revolution in Britain,
collapse of the Mughal aristocracies, and the rise of new markets for cheaper textiles.
However, now the Bangladesh government is giving support to the development
jamdani industry in its modern perspectives.
the mid 19th century saw the decline of Jamdani mainly due to import of cheaper but
inferior yarn from Europe and the decline of the Mughal empire. The weavers were
forced to sell their work at lower prices. Then the East India Company began buying the
textiles directly from the weavers to stop the exploitation. From a high point of export of
Dhaka muslin worth Rs. 3 million to England in 1787, the exports steadiy declined and
stopped completely in 1817.
CURRENT:
Jamdani a fine cloth of muslin group. A nationally and internationally famous fabric,
jamdani is characterised by geometric or floral designs. For centuries jamdani has been a
coveted textile both at local and international market. Although jamdani essentially
means sari, there are, of course, jamdani scarves, kurtas, turbans, skirts, handkerchiefs,
screens and tablecloths as well. In the 17th century, dresses like Khrta and Sherwani
were made of jamdani fabric. A special type of jamdani cloth was produced for tailoring
the Nepalese dress of 'ranga' during the Mughal reign.
Jamdanis from Dhaka were on view at the Delhi Exhibition of 1902-1903. From the
published for this exhibition, we get a fairly good picture of the jamdanis in
twentieth century. The patterns seen in the jamdanis at that time were
Persian in origin. This proves beyond doubt that the designs
the Mughals for figured muslins continued into the early twentieth. The fabric was then
usually a piece of grey cotton, ornamented with bluehLick
occasionally with gold and silver wire. When made in the form of a sari,
the end bad bold corner designs resembling the cone pattern of the Kashmiri
The Cield of the sari had as a rule numerous small bunches or sprays of flowers,
'he most common being a circular design resembling the chameli (jasmine).

Various types of Jamdani Sarees

Daccai Jamdani
Daccai Jamdani sarees are distint from other varieties by its very fine texture resembling
muslin and the elaborate and ornate workmanship. These sarees have multicolored linear
or floral motifs all over the body and border and have an exquisitely designed elaborate
pallu. The mango motif signifying fertility, growth, and marital bliss is a very popular
design in Jamdani sarees.
Tangail Jamdani
These sarees have Jamdani motifs on Tangail fabric and hence known as Tangail
Jamdani. The traditional tangail borders had a "paddo" or lotus pattern, "pradeep' or
lamp pattern, apart from the popular "aansh paar' which was common to Shantipur. From
the use of a single colour on the border, they began to use 2 to three colours to give it
'meenakari' effect.
Shantipur Jamdani
This variety of sarees have a powder fine texture. Dhaniakhali Jamdani Having a tighter
weave than the "tangail" or "shantipur", Dhaniakhali Jamdani is more hardy. Its bold
body colours and contrasting borders and absurdly low prices make them very
affordable.
TYPES OF JAMDANI
FULWAR JAMDANI:
If the field is covered with rows of flowers it is known as fulwar jamdani.

DURIA JAMDANI:
Duria jamdani has designs of spots all over.

BELWARI JAMDANI:
Belwari jamdani with colourful golden borders used to be made during the Mughal
period, especially for the women of the inner court.

THEME :
I have choosen the theme of Islamic geometrical pattern in jamdani.