Kanchipuram - Silk Sarees

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Kanchipuram - Silk Sarees

History has it that Kancheepuram rose to eminence during Krishna-Deva Raya's reign, when two weaving communities - the Devangas and the Saligars transmigrated to Kancheepuram from Andhra Pradesh. Primarily because within this seemingly minuscule town there were more than 129 finely crafted temples. And silk was always considered the ceremonial wear at religious rituals and weddings. The Devanga and Saligar weavers were reputed for their weaving silks. Every Kancheepuram silk Saree is amongst the most superior silks in the world. Thanks to its double warp and double weft. Besides which, the gold in the motifs is incorporated by dipping the silk thread into liquid gold and silver. This enhances the beauty and the value of the silk. Kancheepuram Sarees are also known as Kanchipuram and Kancheevaram and sometimes Kanchivaram Sarees.

Today, apart from its temples, this small town is also known for its thriving hand loom industry. Kancheepuram town is also known as Silk City since the main profession of the people living in and around is weaving silk sarees,more than 5,000 families are engaged in this industry. The silk weavers of Kanchi settled more than 400 years ago and have given it an enviable reputation as the producer of the best silk sarees in the country. Woven from pure mulberry silk and have an enviable reputation for texture, lustre, durability and finish. The sarees in dazzling colours are available in every imaginable design and variety, which can make the job of selection quite challenging.

About 75% of Kanchipuram's population is dependent on the Silk Saree industry, either directly or indirectly. Yet, the city does not manufacture Silk or any other raw material that goes into its silk sarees. The Silk industry is entirely made up of Handloom weavers and merchants. The Kanchipuram Silk Saree is hand-woven with dyed silk yarn with interleaved designs made with 'Jari' - a Silk thread twisted with a thin Silver wire and then gilded with pure Gold. Technically, the silk thread used for weaving Kanchipuram Sarees is made up of three single threads twisted together. Hence, the Kanchipuram Silk Saree is usually stronger (and more expensive) than its counterparts from Arni, Dharmavaram, etc. However, the designs on the Saree itself are what brings it the fame. Simply, the Kanchipuram Saree is a fine piece of art.

Raw Silk for the sarees comes from several locations in the State of Karnataka. This raw silk is dyed in local units. The State of Gujarat holds a virtual monopoly in the manufacture of 'Jari'. Especially, the City of Surat in Gujarat is the main manufacturing center for 'Jari'. Kanchipuram's reputation as a Silk weaving center dates from less than a few centuries ago. In the early days, the industry was owned by a few merchants who played the part of procuring sarees from the local weavers and selling them.This system had its own problems, mostly in the form of unjust compensation for the weavers.

In 1949, a Communist movement of the weavers took over this industry, and formed a Co-operative society under Mr. K.S. Parthasarathy, a Communist Leader. The society was called the "Kamatchi Amman Society", and had 79 members.The society brought a number of weavers under a protective umbrella and provided them with financial assistance and various welfare schemes.

This Co-operative movement gathered momentum. Today, there are 24 co-operative societies, of which about 18 are very large. Most of these societies are now run under the control of the Government of Tamilnadu. The Kamatchi Amman Society itself has now grown to host about 2000 members, and is the biggest and most reputed society in the city. The total number of weavers who work under the co-operative sector today is close to 50,000.

Some of the large societies in Kanchipuram are :

• Kamatchi Amman Silk Society
• Arignar Anna Silk Society
• Kanchipuram Silk Society
• Murugan Silk Society
• Varadharaja Swamy Silk Society
• Pallavar Silk Society
• Tiruvalluvar Society

In the private sector, there are over 200 manufacturers in Kanchipuram alone. These private manufacturers procure sarees from independent weavers in Kanchipuram and export them to other cities in India as well as abroad. Some of the more famous ones are Sri Kumaran Silks, and Nalli Silks in Chennai.

The Kancheepuram silk industry, with its 500-year-old tradition, is known for producing heavyweight stiff silk saris. The saris are woven with three ply, high denier threads using thick zari for supplementary warp and weft patterns that consist of unique and intricate designs. Silk threads are dyed in a variety of color. The threads are dipped in rice water and dried in Sun. Depending on the intricacy of design, it may take 20 to 30 days to weave a Kancheevaram Pattu Saree!

The Kancheepuram Silk Sarees are woven with fine silk with contrasting border & pallav woven with a variety of zari motifs such as rudraksham, malli moggu, gopuram, etc Traditionally, peacocks on borders and on the pallu's, temple borders and other local designs are popular among the buyers, but designs keep changing according to the requirements of the market.

Tamil Sarres, Andhra Sarees, Kerala Sarees, Kancheevaram Pure Silk Sarees, Pattu Sarees, Kanchipuram Silk Sarees. Traditional South Indian and North Indian Designs on Kancheepuram Silk

Kanchipuram - Silk Sarees

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