TALES 》 Mysore Silk Sarees from Government of Karnataka India

Melting Mysore pak to butter-soft Mysore silks by Sarees are my passion

It is called as City of Palaces, the cultural capital of Karnataka, heritage palaces, magnificent buildings, art galleries, and monuments. Mysore has lent its name from renowned dishes like Mysore Masala Dosa which leaves me craving for melting dessert called Mysore Pak(sweet-dessert). Mysore, the original name of this city was 'Mahishapura' which is derived from the demon named Mahishasura. Mysore officially renamed as Mysuru is one of the districts in Karnataka state.

Few most attractions are Ambavilas Palace, Jaganmohan Palace, Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion Lalitha Mahal. Not only it is famous for Palaces but also in artwork such as Rosewood Inlay work, Ganjifa Art and classical south Indian painting called Mysore painting. Taking the blessing from lord Goddess Chamundeshwari from the foothills of Chamundi is a must when you visit Mysore and finally how can I forget to mention festivities that takes place here during the period of Dasara(Nadahabba) attract a worldwide audience.

In India almost each and every state has it's own saree weaved and how interesting it is to know, that India is one of the second largest consumer of silk in the world. Sarees are the most fascinating unstitched garment, that every women loves! So lets us now check the renowned traditional sarees from Karnataka which are Ilkal silk sarees, molakalmuru sarees and now comes the turn of cultural capital of south Karnataka that's the fine taste of pure Royal Mysore silks.

Roots of History and Traces
Initially the 'silk fabrics' and 'silk sarees' were manufactured exclusively for Royal family and armed forces. KSIC, was established in the year 1912 by the Maharaja of Mysore province, Naalwadi Krishnaraj Wadiar. Once Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV went to Britain for Queen Victoria’s jubilee celebrations and during his visit he was impressed by 'Silk fabric' which was used by British royalty which was machine made, this inspired him to order 32 power-looms, from Switzerland thus begin the earliest known production of machine made silk saree in India. After India Independence, Mysore Sericulture Dept took control of the silk weaving factory, later in the year 1980 the silk weaving factory handed over to Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation Ltds(KSIC). There are presently two silk factories the first one being in Mysore(Mysuru) which is the country’s oldest silk manufacturing unit in the heart of the Mysore city and is spread over acres and the second factory which is located in T. Narasipura which is 25 kms away from the Mysore silk saree making factory and silk weaving factory in Mysore, presently owned by KSIC and this company is being certified as ISO 9001:2000, and is the only organization to give guarantee for its zari.

The weaving process involves two types of looms by which it is manufactured namely

• Jacquard looms
• Dobby looms

Butter soft Mysore silk saree are available in mediums such as

• Mysore Chiffon silk saree
• Mysore Georgette silk saree
• Mysore Crepe silk saree
  1. Mysore semi-crepe sarees
  2. Mysore zari printed crepe silk

Unique embroidered identification code

Luxury Mysore silk saree varities can be sub-classified
Based on designs, border, pallu, patterns these luxury sarees can be sub-classified as zari printed saree, small mango saree, tissue Saree, traditional zari Saree, checked zari saree sunrise design saree, mango border saree, butta pallu saree, double line checks saree, embroidery design saree, rich pallu saree, Jawar border saree, zari print saree, rich pallu zari saree, big butta pallu zari, medium small checks plain saree and printsallover saree.

Fascinating facts to know more about century old saree

• Mysore silk saree weighs anywhere between 400 and 600 grams approximately
• Each saree is given unique embroidered identification code opposite edge of the pallu and a hologram to prevent misuse and that allows you be sure of authenticity
• Printed seal saying(KSIC) Mysore silk 100% pure Mysore silk
• KSIC introduces water-resistant saree for higher priced sarees
• Zari/Jari used by KSIC will never tarnish
• Not only plain simple weave they have but also available in printed silk sarees as well
• Kasuti embroidery and Bandhani designs is also been added as an embellishments to variants of saree
• More than 115 varieties of sarees and more than 300 shades of colors which are designed by the KSIC
• They use gold, silver threads for zari/jari
• Obtained geographical indication(GI) registration

The main body or base of the saree
The main body of Mysore silk, most popular one is plain, so if you fan of plain and simple colors make sure be careful of stains, this will show spots as well. The other ones carries checks, strips as well. Each saree is measured 5.5 width(in metres) and a blouse-piece material attached to it.

Colors
When it comes to colors there are around 300 shades of colors, some are plain and simple with single tones and some comes with contrast shades. But as far as my personal choice I love Combination with contrast shades one which I am head on heals is oil red with black!

Border the game changer
Traditional ones are most are beautifully incorporated like mango border, Gold lace border, thin zari border, Jawar border and so on.

Why there is a massive fan following for Mysore silk saree ?

• Texture of the saree is butter-soft and hence superfine weave
• Majority of the saree has minimalist design
• Lustre(gentle sheen)
• Durable
• Non-crush quality
• Can be gifted as a legacy collection
• The fabric is opaque
• It still remains brand new after years of draping it

How one will feel once you drape Mysore silk saree?

• Butter-soft-feel of the texture
• These sarees glides and hence easy to drape
• Light-weight elegance and delicate woven silk yarns
• Sleek and sober look
• Lastly the sophisticated and a statement attire can be drape for long hours so comfortably

Products not just limited to sarees alone
KSIC is not just limited to silk sarees but also has spread across there line of products which include finest of salwar kameez, designer silk sarees, men shirts, kurta’s, silk shawls, anarkali suits, stoles, silk dhoti and men’s tie soft silks, scarfs, hankeys, neck ties, stoles and ethnic clutches.

Why Mysore silk is so expensive?
The reason being why it is so expensive comparative to other silks is that they use high quality pure silk and 100% pure gold zari, this is the reason the price of Mysore silk is a bit expensive!

How to identify genuine Mysore silk

• Printed seal saying(KSIC)Mysore silk 100% pure Mysore silk which is printed were you initially tuck the saree
• Unique embroidered identification code as well

Fabric care for Mysore silk saree:

• Silk fabrics is best to be given for dry-cleaning, as they use 'chemical solvent' other than water to clean the fabric, they generally use non water based solvents to remove soil and stains from fabric.
• Avoid storing this precious sarees in polythene bags, warp these sarees in clean muslin cloth and store them.
• Never wring the silk fabric.
• Once in a while make sure, you change the folds of the saree.
• Make sure these butter soft sarees to preserve against dampness and moisture.
• Once in a year or twice in a year, also expose zari part of the sarees for few minutes to the mild-sunlight once.
• If ironing the silk fabric, check out for silk-settings in the iron box, keep the fabric settings as medium or low heat or delicate/silk setting and iron the fabric always on backside of the silk fabric.

My personal note
I appreciate weaves across India, it's just art end of the day, no matter how cost effective the weave or how expensive to the sky, every weave requires equal amount of passion, dedication and hours of laborious work involved in it. Mysore silk is one of the aesthetically textured fabrics I have ever come across till date, I just cannot express more, one have to feel it!