MAP OF CHANDERI

HISTORY

Ancient texts speak of Madhya Pradesh as a famous center for weaving between the 7th century and
the 2nd century BC. One of the historical identities of Madhya Pradesh, is situated on the boundary of
two cultural regions of the state, Malwa and Bundelkhand. This habitation, in the dense forests of
Vindhyachal Ranges, is a depository of various traditions. Contemporarily, in eleventh century, its
location near the trade routes, connecting Malwa, Mewad and Central India to the ports of South and
Gujrat, gave it the importance. It has been an important ancient center of Jain culture. We find its
reference in the Epic Mahabharata. Famous Persian scholar Albaruni referred this town while making
a reference to a period around 1030AD in his book “Albaruni’s India”.
Mughals, Rajputs and Maratha dynasties ruled this region from time to time. Kings and Kingdoms,
Badshahs and Sultans, battles won and lost, Queens who performed Johar, Palaces, Forts, Doors and
what not, which gave name and fame to Chanderi, now remain only part of stories and fables; but
what survived throughout, from 12th and 13th centuries AD till today, is the magic of the weave of
Chanderi which is known to rich and middle classes of India as ‘Chanderi Saris’.

Proven record of tradition of cloth weaving is available from 13th century. In the beginning, weavers
were mostly Muslims. In 1350, Koshti weavers from Jhansi migrated to Chanderi and settled down
here. During Mughal period cloth business of Chanderi reached to its peak. During the reign of
Jahangir, this art of weaving still used to mesmerize people. But this is also true that this excellence of
weaving which peaked during Mughal period, also deteriorated during this very period.

Chanderi town is popularly known as one of the best handloom clusters in India where Chanderi fabric
was woven using hand spun cotton warps and wefts. But the evolution of the fabric began in the
1890’s when weavers in the town of Chanderi replaced hand spun yarns with mill made yarns.

In the year 1910, Chanderi sarees were patronized by the royal family of Scindia and it was during that
period when golden thread motif made its presence in the cotton muslin saree for the first time. In
the 1930s, Chanderi weavers in Madhya Pradesh discovered Japanese silk. They began replacing the
warps of cotton sarees with it and that’s how the Chanderi silk variety came into existence.
MYTHS AND STORIES ABOUT THE TEXTILE - CHANDERI

- There are many stories related to the origin of this textile. But if epics are to be believed,
Chanderi fabric is known to have its origin way back in the Vedic Period and was founded by
Lord Krishna’s cousin – Shishupal.

- In 1350s, the cloth length of Chandri was sent to Mughal Badshah Akbar folded and packed in
a hollow of a bamboo, when it was taken out, a whole Elephant could have been covered by
its length. This was the delicacy and sophistication of weaving of those days.

- Jain community has been living in Chanderi for a very long time. There are many Jain temples
and pilgrimages in Chanderi. It is said that in Gajrath Samaharos, held between1436 to 1468,
turbans made only from Chanderi cloth were worn. Chroniclers of history of Chanderi have
mentioned the uniqueness of Chanderi fabrics. Tieffenthaler, a Jesuit priest who stayed in
nearby Marwar from 1740 to 1761, mentioned in his description De L’Inde in 1776 that “very
fine cloth is woven here and exported abroad.” One by-product of this was the growth of new
weaving centres; Chanderi rose to prominence as a cloth producer on the back of the raw
cotton boom. Weavers produced very fine quality turbans for export to Maratha rulers among
whom the cocked ‘turban’ was becoming a distinguishing mark of high nobility. Much earlier
one finds mention of Chanderi in Maasir-i-Alamgir (1658-1707) wherein it is stated that
Aurangzeb ordered that “in the Khilat Khana embroider cloth should be used instead of stuff
with gold and silver worked on it.” The material was very expensive, a pair of sari costing eight
hundred to one thousand rupees and sometimes even more. “The beauty of fabric consists in
its fineness, softness and transparency, but the ends were often worked and fringed heavily
with gold thread.”

- A British R.C. Sterndal described Chanderi cloth as, “Chanderi is a place where thin Malmal
cloth is woven. The cloth woven in Chanderi is the favourable choice of Queens in India. This
cloth is very expensive, which have works of Golden thread on its borders. The cloth of
Chanderi can be identified by its thin, soft and transparent texture, which can only be
experienced.”
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANDERI

Referred to as ‘woven air’ because of its transparency and the sheer texture of the fabric, Chanderi
sarees are set apart by their light weight and glossy texture that is different from any other textile
woven or produced in mass in the country. The sarees owe this quality to the high-quality and extra
fine yarns that are used in weaving the Chanderi fabric. The yarn used to weave Chanderi fabric
doesn’t go through the degumming process to prevent breakage during weaving, giving the fabric its
unique shine and texture. The other distinguishing factor is the use of motifs such as peacocks, lotuses,
coins, celestial figures, geometric patterns, artistic intertwining lines and figures of animals.
COLOURS

Colour palette of Chanderi sarees are predominately ruled by soft pastel hues, however with changing
times, vibrant combinations of red and black, turquoise and navy blue, fuchsia and white also exist.
BUTTIS OR MOTIFS

The buttis or motifs on Chanderi fabric are primarily hand woven on handloom, with the use of
needles. Separate needles are used to create different motifs. Weavers coat these motifs with gold,
silver as well as copper. Motifs created using Chanderi weaving are inspired from nature and include
Swans, Ashrafi or gold coins, fruits, heavenly bodies, churi, bundi, keri, phul-patti, phul-buta, akhrot,
paan, eent, suraj butti, meena butti, kalgi and ghoongra.
The ashrafi butti, once the favourite of the royalty, is the most popular butti design on Chanderi sarees.
When these motifs are bigger in size, they are referred to as butas.

From traditional motifs of flowers, peacock, lotus to modern geometric patterns, today one can find
strikingly beautiful and exclusive motifs like ‘Nalferma, ‘Dandidar, ‘Chatai’, ‘Jangla’, Mehndi wale
haath’ etc. adorning the Chanderi fabrics.
The 1970s saw a revolution of sorts in the designs of Chanderi sarees. Innovative borders such as the
Ganga Jamani, Mehndi Range Haath, Sada Saubhagyawati Bhava became extremely popular with
women from all across the country.

The borders popular today include the adda border which consists of a highly intricate design, the
nakshi is similar except for the outline of the border which is done with a different coloured thread
and the plain zari patela border. Piping border has one colour interspersed with thin strips of another
colour.

TRANSPARENCY

Transparency or sheer texture is a unique feature of Chanderi fabric that differentiates it from other
textiles produced across India. The transparency of this fabric is because of the use of single Flature
quality of yarn. When glue of a raw yarn is not separated from it, the non-degumming renders a shine
and transparency to the finished fabric which produces a Flature yarn.

VARIETIES

Traditionally, Chanderi sarees came in a white cotton saree heavily worked in gold, a broad striped
gold embroidered saree, a chequered embroidered saree, a white silver chanderi, a gold small
chequered silk Chanderi saree and a gold chequered Chanderi saree. Today, the three most popular
fabrics used to weave a Chanderi saree are pure silk, chanderi cotton and silk cotton.
REGIONS OF CHANDERI TEXTILE

Chanderi silk is a brand name in the Indian textile market. However, as there is no registered body to
control the use of this brand, there is an increasing incidence of counterfeit products that are not
made in Chanderi being sold as Chanderi handlooms. Many units that produce and sell counterfeit
Chanderi handlooms are in the nearby areas of Chanderi like Jhansi and Tikamgarh. The artisans of
Chanderi argue that such practices are wrong as Chanderi silk has distinct features that products from
other places do not have.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A CHANDERI TEXTILE

The buttis are exclusively handwoven on the handloom and are often coated with gold, silver or
copper dust.

Genuine Chanderi textile will always be available in soft hues.

The glossy texture and shine sets an original Chanderi fabric apart from the fake ones.

A handwoven Chanderi will always have an uneven surface.

These hand spun motifs make the Chanderi stand out as machine spun weaves easily come out over
time.