Chanderi: Introduction
Two clouds passed over a parched land. They took pity on the toiling natives. “Oh, how hot they look,” exclaimed the kind clouds. Smiling, they...
Chanderi
Interesting facts and links
Unlike thick Southern silks or Chettinad cottons, a Chanderi saree cannot be worn without a blouse underneath. All sarees began their life sans blouses. In...
Portrait of a Weaving Household
In Chanderi, most of the weavers are Muslims. Samaruddin Ansari and his wife Saida-Bi are fairly typical. They are part of a larger household of...
Caring for your Chanderi Saree
Most of the master weavers we spoke to said that Chanderi sarees (unlike, say Kanchipuram weaves which tolerate hand-washing) need to be dry cleaned. The...
Steps before weaving: stretching yarn into warp
It could have been a street in Marrakech. A slim old lady in a purple hijab surrounded by blue-tinted mud homes. Cobblestone streets reminiscent of Chefchaouen,...
Portrait of a weaver’s family: Abdul Mubeen Ansari
The road to his home is through tiny clean cobblestone lanes. The doorway is unassuming. But inside, as with many homes in Chanderi is a...
What can an enlightened consumer do?
Bunty Goud and I are trying to solve the problems of the world, or at least the problem of how to improve the lives and...
Making a Chanderi Butti
If there is one thing that defines a Chanderi saree, it is the “butti” or button like circles that flow through the weave. They aren’t...
Dance of the LooM: portrait of a female weaver
Her name is Kisbar Jahan, her age, 32. She is better known as master weaver, Abdul Mubeen’s wife. She has a daughter and a son....
Sights and Sounds of Chanderi Town
Nobody in Chanderi Wears a Chanderi By which I mean, nobody in Chanderi town wears a Chanderi saree. I don’t know why I was...
