Banarasi Silk Weaving
Mughal gardens in gold thread — the saree of the Indian wedding.
Banarasi silk is the brocade weaving of Varanasi: mulberry-silk sarees, dupattas and lehengas patterned with dense gold and silver zari in Mughal-inspired motifs — buti sprigs, bel creepers, the kalga-and-bel paisley-and-vine, jhallar borders, shikargah hunting scenes and all-over jaal lattices. Among the most prized Indian bridal textiles, it ranges from light georgette and organza sarees to the heavy kinkhab brocade once used for court costume and furnishing. It carries a Geographical Indication covering Varanasi and several neighbouring districts.
Craft at a Glance
Origin
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Also Known As
Banaras brocade, Varanasi silk, kinkhab (the heaviest zari brocade)
Craft Type
Brocade silk saree weaving
Practising Community
The largely Muslim Ansari (Momin) weaving community, with Hindu Devanga and Kori weavers and Hindu designers and traders
Materials
Mulberry (katan) silk, and georgette, organza and cotton for lighter sarees; real gold- and silver-gilt zari, and tested or synthetic metallic thread; coloured silk threads for meenakari detailing.
Known For
Heavy gold and silver zari brocade with Mughal-derived floral, kalga-and-bel and jaal patterns
Where It's Made
Varanasi and the districts of Chandauli, Bhadohi, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh
Time to Create
Fifteen days to six months, depending on the density of the brocade
GI Status
Banaras Brocades and Sarees is a registered GI covering Varanasi and adjoining districts
Process Steps
Designing and graphing (naqsha)
A pattern-master draws the motif on graph paper, each square representing one intersection of warp and weft.
Card punching
The graphed design is encoded as a chain of punched jacquard cards, one card per pick, that will tell the loom which threads to lift.
Preparing the warp
Silk is degummed, dyed, warped for several sarees, sized and beamed onto the loom.
Dressing the loom
The jacquard is mounted and laced to the warp so each thread can be lifted independently to the pattern.
Weaving the ground and pattern
Two weavers work the pit loom, throwing the ground weft and adding zari and coloured-silk supplementary wefts row by row.
Kadhua or cutwork motifs
Isolated motifs are either woven in individually with small bobbins (kadhua) for a neat reverse, or cut from continuous floats after weaving.
Cutting the floats and finishing
Where cutwork is used, the loose zari on the back is clipped; the saree is then washed lightly, checked and pressed.
Technique Glossary
Kadhua
A weaving method where each motif is woven in individually rather than cut from continuous floats, giving a neat reverse.
Cutwork (fekua)
Weaving motifs by carrying the zari across the whole width and clipping the floats between motifs afterwards.
Meenakari
Coloured silk threads worked alongside the zari to add enamel-like colour to the brocade.
Jaal
An all-over net or lattice pattern covering the field of the saree.
Kalga and bel
The paisley (kalga) and the meandering floral vine (bel) that form the classic Banarasi border and body layout.
Kinkhab
The heaviest Banaras brocade, so dense with zari that little of the silk ground shows, used historically for costume and furnishing.
Naqsha
The graphed pattern draft, and by extension the graph-making craft, that precedes weaving.
Shikargah
A hunting-scene pattern of animals, trees and figures, one of the most complex Banarasi designs.
A Craft Through Time
16th–17th century
Mughal brocade
Persian design and pattern-masters shape the gold-figured Banaras brocade under Mughal patronage, shifting motifs to the Mughal floral style.
18th–19th century
The Ansari looms
The Ansari weaving community sustains the craft through political upheaval, weaving for regional courts and temples.
Colonial era
Jacquard arrives
The punched-card jacquard replaces the draw-boy drawloom, speeding complex figured weaving.
Late 20th century
Power-loom pressure
Power looms, imported yarn and imitation zari flood the market and undercut handloom weavers.
2009
Geographical Indication
Banaras Brocades and Sarees receive a GI covering Varanasi and adjoining districts.
Present
Revival and certification
Cluster schemes, GI hologram tagging and a renewed taste for kadhua weaving support the handloom sector.
Did You Know?
A richly brocaded Banarasi saree can pass through the hands of a designer, a naqsha maker, a card-puncher, a warp-maker and two weavers before it is finished.
Every craft has a story. Every story begins with tradition.