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HISTORYOFKANCHEEPURAMSILKSAREESINDIANMIRROR

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HISTORYOFKANCHEEPURAMSILKSAREESINDIANMIRROR

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HISTORYOFKANCHEEPURAMSILKSAREESINDIANMIRROR

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KANCHEEPURAMSILKSAREES
HISTORYOFKANCHEEPURAMSILKSAREES
ThetownofKancheepuramnearChennaiinTamilnaduisalsopopularlyknownacrossthecountryasSilkcityfortheeconomyofthetownismainlybasedonthepeopleweavingsilksarees.The
weaversfromthistownarebelievedtohavesettledatleast400yearsbackandtheystampedafortunateopinionacrosstheglobeastheproducersofexcellentsilksareesinthecountry.Thusthe
majoreconomyofKancheepuramisfromthehandloomindustriesandtourismbecausethecityisloadedwithrichculturalheritage.KancheepuramlocatedinthesouthofIndiahasmagnificent
templesfeaturedbydistinctarchitecturebearingexpressiveevidencetotheacclaimedDravidianheritage.Thisoldtownisalsoknownasthetemplecityandthecityofthousandtemples.
KanchipuramwasruledbydifferentKingslikeduringtheperiodof6thto7thcenturyADthePallavaKingsruledandfollowedbytheCholas,VijayanagarKings,theMuslimandtheBritish.
HistorysaysthatitwasduringtheperiodofKrishnaDevaRaya'sreignthatKancheepuramacknowledgedsuperiority.
MAJORWEAVINGCOMMUNITIESTHEDEVANGASANDTHESALIGARS
ItwasduringthisperiodthatthetwomajorweavingcommunitiestheDevangasandtheSaligarsofAndharaPradeshmigratedtothisdustytown.Primarilybecausewithinthisseeminglyminuscule
townthereweremorethan129finelycraftedtemples.Thosedaysitwasmoreofcustomaryandtraditionalpracticetowearsilkclothesduringceremonialoccasionslikeweddingsandrituals.No
weddingissaidtobecompleteinIndiawithoutthewearingofKancheepuramsilkclothes.TheweaversfromtheDevangaandSaligarcommunitywereknownfortheirweavingskills.Themain
professionofthepeopleofKancheepuramisweavingsilksarees.

SILKSAREESHAVEBECOMEANINTEGRALPARTOFOCCASIONS
Thesilkssareeshavebecomeanintegralpartofoccasionslikeweddingsandcelebrationsforapartfromtheluxuryittalksitisalsoknownfortherichweaveandthegoldborders.Whateverthe
patternmaybe,whetherthesimpleselfborderorthecolourfulcontrastborderwithgoldzari,dotsandmotifsthesarisarenotedfortheirgenuineanddignifiedlookwithuniqueandvibrantcolor
combinations.TheKancheepuramsilksarisaresupposedtobethebestamongallthesilksintheworld.Kancheepuram,thesilkcapitalissaidtohavemorethan20,000loomswhere34weavers
workineachloomandnearly45lakhsofsilksarisareproducedeveryyearandshippedtodifferentpartsoftheworld.
SPECIALTY
Thekancheepuramsarisarepopularlyknownasthequeenofallsarisasithasanotedtexture,glimmer,permanenceandrefinement.Theyarethemostelegant,desirableandluxuriousofallsarees.
ThesesarisaremadefromaheavysilkmaterialknownastheKancheepuramsilkwhichcanbeveryeasilymaintainedathome.Itcanbewashedwithwaterathomeforthesarisaredurableenough.
Itisquiteexpensiveforthefactofitsfinesseanditweighsmorethananyothersilksari.Thequalityofthesariisgradedbasedonhowheavythesariis.
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Theheavierthesarithebetterthequality.ButhoweverthesedaystherearealsolightweightsarisavailableinthemarketwhicharemadefromKoreanand
Chinesesilk.ThemulberrysilkwhichisgotfromKarnatakaandTamiNaduaresupposedtobethebestsilkforweavingtheclassicKancheepuramsari.
SILKTHREADFORTHESAREE
Thesilkthreadbeforeitgetsintothesariisdippedinricewaterandsundried.TheKancheepuramsarisarehandwovenandthesilkyarnisdyedwith
interleaveddesignsmadewith'Zari'.Thisisdonebytwistingasilkthreadwithathinsilverwireandthenmovedsmoothlywithpuregold.Thethreadwhich
isusedintheweavingprocessisinturnmadeofthreesinglethreadstwistedtogetherwhichmakesthesaricomparativelystrongerandexpensivethanthe
othervarietieslikeArni,Dharmavaram,etc.ThespecialtyofKancheepuramsariisthatin1.2inchesofwarpframetherewillbe60holesinwhichtherewill
be240threadsinWarpandaround250to300threadsintheWeptwhichgivesstrengthtothesari.Apartfromthis,thedesignsonthesarialsoaddsuptothe
fame.SelectingaKancheepuramsariisquitechallengingforapartfromthevibrantcoloursitisavailableindifferenteyecatchingdesignsandvarieties.
KANCHEEPURAMFLOURISHESWITHSILKINDUSTRY
Kancheepuramflourisheswithsilkindustrywithhandloomartisansandmerchants.ThemainitemrequiredinthemakingoftheKancheepuramsarisarethe
mulberrysilkthreadandmetallicthread(Zari)anddye.KarnatakaandTamilNaduaretheplacesfromwherethemulberrysilkthreadisgotwhereasthe
metallicthreadcomesfromGujaratandthisisusedtointerweavewiththesilkthreadandtherebygivesthemetalliclook.Alltherawmaterialsourcedis
theninthehandsoftheskilledartisans.SomeofthecommonmotifswhichareweavedintheKancheepuramsarisareSun,moon,chariots,peacocks,
parrots,swans,lions,coins,mangoes,leaves,ajasminebudwithinasquareoraroundframe,locallyknownasmallinagguandthandavalamwithparallel
linesrunningacrossthebodyofthesari.ThesarisalsodisplaythestructuresoftemplestheEkambaranatharandAvudaliyarisarisbearthedesignsofthese
shrines.Apartfromitsownspecialtieswhenitiswornonceremonialoccasionsthesariinturnbrightensupthewholeplace.
WEAVINGTECHNIQUESOFTHEKANCHEEPURAMSAREE
TherearelegendswhichstatethattheweaversinKancheepuramarethedescendentsofthesageMarkanda,theMasterWeaverofGodsandalsoitis
believedthatsilkfabricisthemostfavouriteofLordVishnuandhencethereareanumberofloomsaroundtheLordVishnutemple.Kancheepuramholdsa
goodplaceinthehistoryofhandloomweavingdatingbacktotheSangamperiod.Theweavingtraditionsfollowedhereisquiteunique.Thewholeprocess
isquiteintricateandalsoconsumeslotoftimetoweaveasinglesari.ThemaintechniquewhichisfollowedintheweavingisknownasKorvaiwherethe
bordersareinterlacedwiththebodyofthesari.Thecontrastingcolorsofthebordersintheweavingoftheweftareinterlinkedwiththebodyoftheweft
witheachthrowoftheshuttle.Itgenerallyrequirestwopeopleorweaverswhereonehastoconcentrateontheworkingofthethreadsandtheotherweaverhastoworkonthebordercolours.
BORDERONBOTHTHESIDESOFTHESAREE
Whenborderisrequiredonboththesidesofthesariittakesatleastthreeshuttlesforeachsari.Thebestandthemostelaboratepartofthesariwillbethepalluwhichisinterlinkedtothemainbody
ofthesaribyaspecialinterlinkingweaveknownas'pitni.'Inthehandsoftheskilledartisansthesarigivesthelookofacontinuousweavewheretheinterlinkedportionisnevervisibleor
camouflagedbeautifully.Thezariwhichisusedinweavingconstitutesabout57%ofsilverand0.6%ofgoldandalsothecolourofthedyeusedinthebordersandthepalluisdifferentfromthose
usedintheothercommonsari.Ittakesatleast10to15daystoweaveasinglesariandforthedurationismainlybasedontheuniquenessandtheintricacyofthedesigns.Therearemorethan5000
familieswhoaretotallyinvolvedinweavingindustryforgenerationsandtheirlifeistotallybasedonthis.

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LATESTTRENDSINKANCHEEPURAMSAREE
SomeofthelatesttrendsintheKancheepuramsarisisAishwaryaKanchipuramSaree,AnuradhaKanchipuramSaree,AnkushaKanchipuramSaree,
AradhanaKanchipuramSaree,TammanaSilkSaree,ChandralekhaEmbroiderySaree,AnushaKanchipuramSaree,ApekshaKanchipuramSaree,Amitha
KanchipuramSareeandChinmaiKanchipuramSaree.Alltheselatestarrivalscanbepurchasedfromsomeoftherenownedshopsavailableinthestatelike
Pothys,RmKV,TheChennaiSilks,ShriKumaranSilksandNallisilks.NalliandKumaranSilkstradefromindependentweaversandmakethesaris
availableintheirparticularstoresinforeigncountries.Theuseofcomputersincreatingdesignsisontherise.Buthoweveradirectpurchasefrom
Kancheepuramitselfwillbecomparativelyloworfairlypriced.ThegenuineortheoriginalKancheepuramsarisaretaggedquitehighforitinvolveslotof
labourandintricatework.AlsothematerialsusedinthemakingoftheKancheepuramsarisaremainlyzariandgoldthread.
KANCHEEPURAMSAREESAREEXPORTEDTODIFFERENTCOUNTRIES
Itcostsanywherebetween2,500to1,00,000inINRandindollarsUS$38toUS$1,500.Butitisalifetimeinvestmentandverymuchworth.The
KancheepuramsarisareexportedtodifferentcountrieslikeUS,SriLanka,ItalyandRussiasince1960.Notedforitsshimmerandbeautypeoplecomeall
thewayfromalongdistanceonlytopurchasetheKancheepuramsarisforfamilyfunctionsandweddings.TheKancheepuramsilksaristakethecreditof
beingoneamongthe18GeographicalIndication(GI)taggedproductsoftheTamilnadugovernment.TheGIlabelnotonlycertifiestheoriginbutalso
establishitsconditiontothestandards.TheGIlabelofKancheepuramsarisaidsinsellingoriginalsilksarisintheglobalmarket.TheKanchipuramsilk
industryoperatesmainlythroughcooperativesocietiesandprivatetraders.Nowitisestimatedthatthereareatleast6000loomsinthecitywheretheturnoverexceedsRs.200croreswithexports
ofapproximatelyRs.3crores.
RESEARCHBYTHEEXPERTSREGARDINGEXPORT
ButhoweverresearchbytheexpertssaysthattheexportisnotgrowntomaximumforthedemandoutsideIndiaisnotappreciable.Sothegovernmentislookinguponproductdiversification.Also
thetastesofthepeoplekeepchangingwherenowtheyprefermoreoflightweightsaris.Solotofchangeshasbeenmadeaccordingtothelatesttrendwheresilkandcottonareblendedtogetthe
bodyofthesariandtherebythegoldandsilvercontentinthezariisreducedandultimatelythecostofthesari.TheseprocedureshaveadverselyaffectedthereputationoftheKanchipuramsilk
sareesandareaffectingtheirsalesinanegativemanner.
GOVERNMENTOFTAMILNADUHASSETUPATECHNOLOGYINFORMATIONCOUNCIL
TheGovernmentofTamilNaduhassetupaTechnologyInformationForecastingandAssessmentCouncilfortestingthezariwhichisusedbothbythecooperativessocietiesforsilksarisand
individualsbypayinganominalfee.Thecooperativesocietiesarefacinglotofproblemslikepilingupofstocksanddeclineinworkingcapital.Sonotknowingwhattodotheycomeupwith
discountsonsariprices.Thegovernmentalsooffersarebateonthesesaris.InspiteoflotofupsanddownsoftheweaverstheKanchipuramsilkindustryhasmanagedtosurviveandisstruggling
hardtomakeitspresenceinternationally.However,thebiggestchallengesfacedbyittodayareundertakingmodificationstosuitchangingcustomerpreferences,useofmoderntechnologyand
productdiversification.OriginalsilksareescanbeidentifiedbyitsauthenticityandthesymbolattestedbyTheSilkmarkOrganization.Sareesthathaveahologramindicatingthatthesariisofpure
silk.
DEALERSOFKANCHEEPURAMSAREES
1.TheVastras,#6,RutlandGate,4thStreet,Nungambakkam,Chennai.Phone:9840240848
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2.SundariSilks,#28,NorthUsmanRoad,TNagar,Chennai.Phone:04428143093
3.NalliSilkSarees,#100UsmanRoad,TNagar,Chennai.Phone:04424314901
4.ArignarAnnaSilkCoOpSocietyK.H1498499,GandhiRoad,Kancheepuram631501.Phone:04427229019,27222148.Website:
www.annasociety.com
5.KancheepuramMuruganSilkHandloomWeaversCoopProduction&SalesSocietyLtd,No.79,GandhiRoad,Kancheepuram631501.Phone:
04427222101,27225711
6.TheKancheepuramThiruvalluvarSilkHandloomWeaver'sCooperativeSocietyLtd.No.313,(OldNo.207),GandhiRoad,(Opp.Theradi),
Kancheepuram631501.Phone:04427222922
7.KancheepuramvallalarSilkHandloomWeaver'sCoop.Production&saleSocietyLtd.,KH54No.133/86A&BGandhiRoad,Kancheepuram
631501.Phone:04427222187
8.KancheepuramSriVaradarajaswamySilkHandloomWeaversCooperativeProduction&SalesSocietyLtd.No.437,GandhiRoad,Kancheepuram
631501.Phone:04427222627
9.KancheepuramDr.KalaignarKarunanidhiSilkHandloomWeaversCooperativeProduction&SalesSocietyLtd.,8889,GandhiRoad,
Kanchipuram631501.Phone:04427222951,27225451
10.RMKV2ndFloor,Phoenixmarketcity,No.142,S5558,VelacheryMainRd,IndiraGandhNagar,Velachery,Chennai,TN

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