Kantha Sarees

The saree is arguably the most powerful piece of untailored cloth. It is superbly structured, its design vocabulary highly sophisticated. There is much a saree could reveal about a woman's and her family's social standing as well as her communo-regional identity. Each dye and motif that are to be found in sarees come with specific meanings. The cost of a saree is typically determined by the amount of time that has gone into making it, so the more complex embroideries and motifs are donned by the wealthy and the upper castes. The endpiece, known in vernacular as the pallu or aanchal, is the seat of the weaver's imagination. It defines a saree, and features the main proportion of work that characterises the saree. One of India's endemic styles of embroidery is the kantha, a technique that involves layering cottons or silks or both by rows of parallel, circular, or swirling stitches. Having flourished in the late twentieth century in Bengal, the contrasting colours of this simple handworked running stitch - that could be left off and picked up at any juncture - has become characteristic of Bengal today. This was the chosen method of stitching for homebound Bengali women looking to rework whatever fabrics are at their disposal to put together new wearables as well as home decor. Natural pastel backgrounds are superimposed with folk motifs such as abstract figures, foliage, and local fauna. Kantha sarees are exquisitely lovely and snuggly; and, unlike their more elaborate counterparts from other regions of the subcontinent specialising in their own embroideries, are not heavy. The one-of-a-kind numbers featured in this section are ideal for evening galas as well as wedding rituals.