Baluchari & Murshidabad Silk (West Bengal)

“Now, when I remember spring, All the joy that love can bring
I will be remembering, The shadow of your smile”

As this song was being played, my thoughts lingered on “shadow of your smile” words in the song and a beautiful smiling face flashed in front of me. A graceful elite lady in a colorful printed-flower saree. “Wow, what a beauty !!” Another image flashed…. A 19^th century zamindar haveli, that same charming gentle smile, now with a loosely hanging pallu placed over the shoulder, a large red bindi in the center of her forehead, zhumka earrings, a dozen bangles in her hands. At the end of the pallu, tied in a knot, from one corner of it would hang the various keys of the household. During those times, the keys hanging from the aanchal (pallu) were the symbols of power, denoting control of the woman over her house and household matters as the grihini. The keys of the larder (bha(n)rar gharer chabi) and almirah keys were deemed the most powerful ones. Saree she had worn was a sign of aristocracy and status. The intricate design on her saree pallu captivated me.

That well-known Bengal silk saree which carry its popular name is Baluchari saree – a production of exclusive design and fabulous weaving technique.

Baluchari derives its name from ‘balu’ (meaning sand) and ‘char’ (or river bank).The Pallu or Pallav or end-piece of the Baluchari is its USP that is adorned with thought and care to make it anywhere from ‘noticed’ to ‘sensational’. Unusual motifs like the figurines of the terracotta temples of Barangore are captivating.

West Bengal rich tradition of Handloom Weaving. It is a part of its cultural heritage. The textile products of Bengal have attracted not only national but also worldwide attention and bears the timeless legacy of our cultural heritage.

Unless you grew up in a traditional Bengali family, you may often find it confusing to distinguish a Garad saree from a Korial saree or a Jamdani from a Muslin. They often look similar from a distance and only knowing the characteristics of each saree will help you identify them correctly.

Charming & distinctive Bengal sarees are colorful printed Murshidabad Silk and elaborate opulent Baluchari sarees.

Origin/History: The history of Baluchari silk weaving in this region goes back to the early eighteenth century during the Mughal rule in India. Murshidabad, the last capital city of independent Bengal was named after Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, the Dewan of Bengal, Bihar and Odisha. It is situated on the banks of the Bhagirathi. A city of splendors and famous for its silk, was made capital of Bengal in 1717. The British shifted the capital to Kolkata in 1773.
In year 1704 the Dewan of Bengal, Murshidkuli Khan, shifted his capital from Dhaka (in present day Bangladesh). He brought with him from Dhaka, the famous art of Baluchari weaving, which consisted of weaving elaborate themes depicting the lives of the Nawabs on silk sarees. The art was patronized by the Mughals, and continued to flourish during the earlier part of the British rule in India. Then a flooding of the Bhagirathi river in the nineteenth century caused the Baluchari weaving trade to shift from Murshidabad to Bishnupur (in the Bankura district of West Bengal).
One of the most famous Baluchari Silk weavers of the 19th century was Dubraj – a master weaver from the Bhadarpur village of the  Baluchar circle. Dubraj is said to have started the trend of weaving religious texts onto the sari. The saris designed by him were such great pieces of art that they even bore his signature.
However, by the closing years of the 19th century, Baluchari textiles were on the decline. This was due not only to a fall in the quality of the raw silk caused by outdated production methods, but also to changing fashions.
Subho Thakur, a famous artist, and native of Bishnupur re-cultivated the rich tradition of Baluchari craft during the 20th century. It was the regime of Malla King, Bishnupur was the capital of Malla dynasty and the tenure was distinguished for giving birth to unique crafts. The weaving technique was modernized. And Bishnupuri Baluchars have gone a step further and used mythological figures of the terracotta temples of the region in their weaving. Baluchari cognoscenti no doubt regretted the “modernization” of a tradition; but contemporary pieces do act as useful mnemonic devices, nudging us to remember a past of rich tapestries, hookahs and howdas.

Region: At present, Murshidabad in West Bengal is a hub for sericulture and handicrafts. The traditional and gorgeous Baluchari sarees originate from the village of Baluchar in Murshidabad in West Bengal and are made of undyed silk. Baluchar as being a few miles north of Behrampur, on the banks of the Bhagirathi.

Fuschia_Baluchari_2 In the 18th century, the sarees of east India received the royal patronage thus developing the weaving tradition of Bengal as a whole. Baluchari Sarees – were originally produced in the town of Baluchar in Murshidabad district. Most Baluchar artisans have long migrated to Bankura. This craft was revived again in the historical village of Bishnupur (Bengal) and has continued to thrive over the years. The shift of the weavers from Baluchar to Bishnupur was also reflected in the saris they wove.

The Bishnupur region in Bankura is famous for producing Baluchari sarees that are made from tussar silk with particular types distinct of patterns on them. Woven on Jacquard punch-card looms, the Baluchari sarees have pallus and borders with epics from Ramayana, Mahabharata and religious texts woven on them

Material and Variations: Normally plain in the body – the Pallav of the Baluchari is resplendent with elaborate woven motifs that often depict stories from mythology and folk tales. Baluchar sarees essentially have a silk base with silk brocaded designs with respect to their colors, where in spite of a rich composition, the Baluchar bootidars almost avoid strong contrasts. Each pattern is treated in a color which harmonizes with the ground on which it is laid. The most popular colors used are red, blue, yellow, green wine, fuchsia and scarlet. The Baluchari sarees have large floral motifs interspersed with flowering shrubs.
The saree’s embellished pallu and borders use the complex jacquard weave similar to the Banarasi weave, except that this saree does not use any gold thread or ‘zari’. The intricacy of the Baluchari brocade, even way back then, was compared to the gorgeous Banarasi and the delicate Kashmiri handwork.

murshidabad-silk-murshidabad-art

A distinctive feature of the Baluchari saree that intrigues me is the weave uses just two colors, sometimes only one. When two colors are used, the figures in each panel are created using alternate colors to break any monotony.
These exclusive sarees woven by the weavers are beautiful specimens of traditional art. However, making Baluchari sarees entail a lengthy process. The motifs are made by drawing the design on graph paper, it is colored and the punching is done using cards.

Blue_Baluchari The silk strands are separately boiled in a solution of soda and soap and dyed to add sheen and luster and put in a loom after which punch cards hanging from the upper part of the loom are used to make the designs on the strands. The punch cards shave holes in them and are rectangular in shape with various designs on them. The dyed strands are made to pass through these holes and accumulate into precise forms on the loom making some of the most desirable sarees made from silk.

The original Baluchari sarees in Murshidabad in the 18th and 19th centuries were woven on the traditional jala looms, where jala refers to the reference design which is first made, and is used as the master design from which many copies can be made repetitively for weaving the sarees. The process was very elaborate, taking between 15-18 weeks to weave a saree and gave rise to a large variety of very intricate patterns.

During the revival of Baluchari weaving in the 20th century by the artist Subho Thakur, jala was replaced by the jacquard technique of weaving.

The jacquard technique is simpler and faster, reduces the weaving time to 1 or 2 weeks, but is not as flexible as the jala technique and cannot produce patterns with as much diversity or intricacy. This is the technique that is used in modern times to weave Baluchari sarees.

The use of Jacquard has reduced the weaving duration of Baluchari sari to six days, when 2 artisans work in shifts, but the sari motifs are no longer reversible.

Baluchari_colors The dyes used are extracted from fruits, flowers, leaves, and vegetables such as pomegranate, jamun, neem fruits and leaves, basil leaves, turmeric, marigold flowers, mangoes, and others. Cotton Kapas is spun with fibers of banana plants and bamboo shoots.  It requires extremely good craftsmanship and takes around a week to weave one saree. These are hand woven and use the purest of yarns depending on the material. These were originally woven only using the purest of silk threads; however, as time went by, cotton fabric was also used to weave the Baluchari sari

Common designs: These are silk sarees, made of Tussar or pure silk. What’s more, they look super stylish, always. Generally, Baluchari sarees portray scenes and little snippets from Indian mythology, including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
Baluchari_BlackGold They also represent various scenes from the lives of Nawabs of Bengal displaying courtly scenes, horse with a rider, or traditional texts. The advent of railways and steamboats is still get documented often on these sarees. Unusual motifs woman riding a horse, smelling a rose, her long plait in an upward swing. Other unusual motifs include a scene of women smoking the hukkah.
The Kalka design or the cone motif is often surrounded with floral borders.

baluchori-sarees-Pallu Due to intricate design on pallav (pallu), it’s always recommended to wear Baluchari in a manner that displays the beauty of the pallav as much as possible (i.e. do not add pleats to the pallav.

Baluchari sarees focused on reflecting the sociopolitical images of the time, and we see them in the earlier colonial motifs, and later in the nationalist ones where Vande Mataram is woven repeatedly all around in pallus and borders.

Few types of Baluchari sarees are,
Baluchari (resham): the simplest Baluchari saree shave resham threads in a single color to weave the entire pattern
Baluchari (meenakari): these Baluchari saree have threads in 2 or more colors with attractive meenakari work that further brightens the patterns
Swarnachari (Baluchari in gold): They are the most gorgeous Baluchari, woven with gold or silver colored threads (often with meenakari work in another color) that illuminate the patterns to a much larger extent.
The cost of these threads and the intricacies in the patterns determine the resulting price of a Baluchari saree.

Murshidabad_Green Other sarees from this same towns are also known such as,
Murshidabad printed silk sarees in Bengal are well-known for its fine silk, which is light and easy to drape. Mostly these sarees are printed silk sarees named after the town “Murshidabad Silk” with colorful varieties of designs.
Bishnupuri printed silk saree, is another name sometimes used to refer to these sarees.
Both, Murshidabad sarees or Bishnupuri sarees are usually colorful designs, hand printed silk sarees. Colorful prints on the light Murshidabad silk are enigmatic.

Where to buy from: The exemplary Baluchari sarees are Burdwan and Murshidabad, though the contemporary style of Baluchari sarees are created keeping in mind the royal touch and unique appeal of the sarees.
The prices of Baluchari saree varies from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 16,000 & Murshidabad printed silk saree cost much less. Here are some places I found where you can buy Baluchari or Murshidabad Silk or for that matter any authentic Bengali sarees.

In San Francisco Bay Area: Pia Ka Ghar (Los Altos Hills, CA).
In Mumbai: Bengal Handloom Centre, Goregaon West

And Online at

Tantuja (Bengal weavers association) or Tantuja via GoCoop Marketplace
Six Yards Dream

Famed Baluchari once a staple in the wardrobe of Bengali zamindar households is making a comeback in the trousseau of brides. These days dupatta, cushion cover and even men’s tie carry Baluchari design.

Be it in a simple yet colorful flower-print Murshidabad silk saree, or in an intricate Bengali Baluchari saree, mayanayika of Bengali cinema, Suchitra Sen’s charming smile continues to hypnotize me.

Baluchari Sarees