Ethnic Indian Sarees - Sarees are my passion

The oldest and largest city in Odisha is Sambalpur, it lies on the bank of Mahanadi river. Sambalpuri sarees are woven on a handloom, these sarees have awarded Geographical Indications(GI) tag as 'Sambalpuri Bandha Saree & Fabrics'. The official language of this place is sambalpuri, the localites of this place is called as Sambalpuriya. Sambalpuri sarees are produced in the Sonepur, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Balangir district, Boudh District of Odisha. The hands behind these traditional masterpieces sarees are Bhulia weaving community and to weave one Sambalpuri saree it may take around three days to a fortnight.

Opulent craftsmanship, Uppada Jamdani saree
The rich and colorful yarns pepping around, splashy Uppada, is a beach town in east Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh state, Indian. Road trip, it just takes thirty minutes drive to reach Kakinada from Uppada town, also known for fishery station for Prawns, fishes here. Fascinating beautifully handwoven sarees known as Uppada sarees are famous and these sarees were named after Uppada village. Handloom industry has retained the age old rich tradition of hand weaving in our country. Padmasali community is the major caste here engaged in the weaving of these wonderful sarees, which are very artistic, a blend of zari work is a add-on to give a charm to the saree. Proud to the state, Uppada Jamdani Sarees, gets geographical indication.

Meticulously tying the bonds of colorful junction
Bandhani is derived from Sanskrit word, bandh known as to-tie and patterns, colours are limitless. Wondering what are the varies names to Bandhani? called and known by varies names such as Bandhej, Piliya, Ghar Chola, Patori, Bandhni and in Tamil Nadu its known as Sungudi. Khatri of Kutch and Saurashtra community involved in making this colorful art since ages. Places in Rajasthan like Jaipur, Sikar, Bhilwara, Udaipur, Bikaner, Ajmer, Tamil Nadu and Jamnagar in Gujarat are the well known centers producing odhnis, sarees and turbans in Bandhani.

Traditional flawlessness crispy weaves to flaunt
What reminds everyone when I says Bengali is mouth watering and luscious dessert 'Rasgulla' and 'Mishti doi' to name the most popular ones in the list and of course Bengali cotton sarees. The medium of communication here is Bengali. The traditional attire of Bengali women is simple forms of these Tant sarees takes around two days to weave and more intricate designs could even take five to six days to complete a saree. Generally Tant saree comes in pastel shades with beautiful thick borders.

The finest spicy Grandmother's attire, nostalgic saree!
Each thread narrates of a story that weaves into a magical saree, red hot Guntur city lies on the south eastern side of Hyderabad in Guntur district of Indian, state of Andhra Pradesh. This city residents are referred as Gunturians, purest forms of the language can be heard here is Telugu(regional language). One can see largest Asian market for red chillies here, this place is main producer and renowned globally for exporting of most varieties of Chillies and chilli powder from India to countries like USA, UK, Latin America, Middle East, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Korea. Guntur sarees are known for finest cotton sarees, these sarees are worn by particularly in the coastal areas it's so simple and sober, which feels comfortable for everyday wearing. Main body of Guntur saree has single plain colors and patterns scattered here and there, with or without checks patterns and has small woven butis all over.

Handloom sarees are one of the most classic ones and will never go out of fashion no matter what new sarees comes in trend. In Karnataka there are so many such sarees which are yet to come to the light, I'm trying to reach via my blog post and my youtube channel Sarees are my passion to educate, discover and learn about sarees. Here is one such Vintage Ilkal Saree from Bagalkot district of Karnataka state.

Breathtaking delicate checks are outstanding, capsule summer wardrobe collections
Summer is nearing, how about floating in air with breathtaking saree, looking for what to wear, here is the beautiful handwoven 'Kota Doria' are the best for the reason, when I wore Kota saree, It feels like, I'm floating, transparent, featherweight, soft, airy, light textured, such a beauty it is, these cosy sarees are very fine weaves and weigh very less and comfort, these gorgeous sarees are handwoven on 'traditional pit looms' and drape gracefully. This village called 'Kaithoon' twenty kms from Kota city, the weavers are located in Kota district of South east 'Rajasthan'. Kota Sarees are primarily made in Kota, Rajasthan, Mau, Uttar Pradesh as well.

The Gods, Goddesses and Narayanpet sarees
This Beautiful small little town is renowned for exclusive splendid handloom silk and cotton sarees, Narayanpet in Mahbubnagar district, Telangana state, India. Primary source of income for people here is from weaving sarees. This charming place is extremely hot in summer and cold in winter. Since it's a business hub for sarees people known many regional languages such as Telugu, Kannada, Urdu, Marathi and of course English as well. Narayanpet sarees is known for its durability, affordability and lower maintenance. In this modern age of Indo-western twist and fast fashion outfits, Narayapet saree still remains classy.

The Sacred Lotus, petals on beauty
Lotus(Nelumbo Nucifera) is a very ancient water plant. Lotus is one of the popular motifs used in Indian textiles, motifs are generally inspired by nature, human figures, architecture from buildings and animals so on, this flower occupies a unique place in Indian art, textiles, poetry, literature, religions purposes and mythology of ancient India. Although this flower is rooted in mud, it continues to float on the water even after emerging from the mud, it remains unstained! The flower is represented with both its opening and closing petals indicating the ups and downs of life. In fact many Hindus are infatuated with lotus flowers, Gorgeous Lotus are called by varies names such as Kamal, Tavare-gadde, Motunkamal, Utpala, Pundarika, Tamarai and Padma and are found in white, pink, red, purple and blue are found in Asian countries.

Lavish Saree of Bride, mulberry silk Dharmavaram
A beautiful city in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh state, India known for its renowned cotton, splendorous silk weaving industries and leather puppets, Dharmavaram. According to the history notes, name of the city Dharmavaram ,has been named after 'Dharmamba', who was the mother of Sri Kriyasakthi Odeyar (person, who built the first tank in the region). The economy of the town is dependent on the weaving industry. Natives of this place speak Telugu(regional language). Dharmavaram sarees is been registered as one of the geographical indication from Andhra Pradesh.

Mangalagiri Sarees and Fabrics are produced by performing handicraft weaving in Mangalagiri, a town in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.Mangalgiri was always known for its pilgrimage importance because of the famous temple of Lord Panakala Narasimha Swamy that is located in the heart of the town. Mangalgiri located 12 kms away from Vijayawada. It was registered as one of the handicraft in the geographical indication from Andhra Pradesh by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, in the year 1999.

Kalamkari or qalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed on a Cotton Textile or Silk Textile. Produced in India, Iran. The Name Originates in Persian, from the words qalam (pen) and kari (craftsmanship), meaning drawing with a pen.

Land of shrines, beaches, rivers, hills and forts
Kasaragod district is a small town situated in Malabar Region of Kerala–God's Own Country, India. The traditional Hand-loom Kasargode sarees are manufactured in this region, these Handwoven sarees is inexpensive and can be wearable daily. These traditional ethnic sarees are specially treasured and worn by every keralite during any traditional occasions and are known for 'quality', 'colour pattern on borders', 'durability' and 'traditional designs'. Kasaragod sarees are best known for cotton sarees of fine count like 60s, 80s, and 100s , recent versions have made available for a blend of artificial silk saree. Kasaragod sarees is registered and recognized under Geographical indication tag (GI tag), under the geographical indication Act- 1999. The weaving community who are involved in weaving these traditional sarees are 'Shaliya community' is also known by various names such as 'Saliya' or 'Chaliyan'.

Pochampally sarees are sheer delight for women!
Magnificent Pochampally saree is called by varies names such as Pogudubandhu or Pochampalli Ikat, is a saree crafted in Bhoodan Pochampally, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana State, India. Pochampally, the village was renamed to Bhoodan Pochampally. This small traditional handloom village magnificently showered and surrounded by hills, lush green fields, temples, Pochampally makes up for an exciting destination to spend one’s heart. This village is around 45Km away from Hyderabad.Telangana is one of the ancient Ikat weaving centers in India.Pochampally Ikat sarees was mainly popularized during 80's.Pochampally silk saree boasts of blending comfort and popularly known as tie and dye weave, one can see century old traditional looms here.

Banjara Embroidery-Stunning piece of art, Sarees are my passion
I am huge fan of Banjara jewelry which are antique yet collectables, their most flamboyant and mind-blowing costumes one goes crazy and highly appreciated, they still follow the rich and age old traditional art forms, which are been reflected in their art work, especially hand embroidery requires lot of time and patience and its laborious. These tribes speak Lamani language/Goar-boali it is also called as Banjari language. One can see Banjara tribes in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat in these places they are widely spread across.

Silk is one of the oldest fabrics in India, it was only used in royal garments these days everyone are able to afford it, because of its cost-effectiveness and contemporary look. Printed silk refers to a length of silk yarn or a silk fabric, which consists of patterns and designs in the form of prints on them. Printed silk initially showcased a number of unusual motifs such as geometric prints, splash of color and lately introduced in fine art in India. The motifs and prints of printed silk is being influenced from Bollywood, pop-culture and creative modern art. You can see prints on silks that have diversified over the years and modern sarees and other ethnic Indian garments that are created specifically to cater to younger. What I noticed in printed silk is it is flawless, more versatile, lightweight, contemporary and a statement attire.

I never heard of Patteda Anchu Saree before
Well, many of them are not aware of this weave in the same state, it's an irony. Lack of awareness and less usage leads to this stage. It was in the year 2016 I first saw the Patteda Anchu Saree and I was very impressed at the first glance, for its simplicity and minimalistic weave, no woven designs these characteristics caught my attention towards this weave. Being and brought up in Karnataka, I was just familiar with Ilkal Saree, Molakalmuru Saree, KSIC Mysore Silk, Banahatti Saree, Hubli Saree because my mother had these magnificent weaves, and she wore them very often. When I told her about Patteda Anchu Saree, she was astonished and happy to shop one...

The art of blending of old and new?
Craving for summer fruits is a must for some like me haha Peaches, the juicy Mangoes, cooling Watermelons what not and what about pairing a perfect outfit the saree for this season is also very important how many of you agree with me? So let's get started, guess what today I would be taking to West Bengal? The guesswork starts ... is it Baluchari, Tant, Begampuri sarees or the brilliantly woven Jamdani, nope it's one of the artistic weave called Khesh sarees.