How to recreate a 100-year old Jamdani today?
Darshan Shah of Weaver’s Studio, Kolkata pulls out what looks to be a white roll. It turns out to be a stunning jamdani weave that...
Jamdani
Why are Bengalis (and their textiles) so diverse?
Cotton sarees abound in India, but the jamdani weave is special. It has been quoted in poetry and displayed in Bollywood movies like Devdas. Why...
The investment banker turned (woman) politician in West Bengal
Bengal is a land of beautiful women with a distinct dressing style-- white sarees with red borders thrown across the shoulder with a clump of...
Giving a new twist to an old textile tradition
Designer Santanu Das’s atelier lies in a quiet street in the Ballygunge area of Kolkata. When I walk in, Das is getting read for a...
The cloth that looks like the vapour of dawn.
Muslin – what magic does the name hold? What mystery lies behind the filaments of this fabric? Who wove it? Who wore it? If the...
How to make natural dyes?
Natural dyed clothes are healthier for the planet and softer on the skin. In fact, there is a case to be made that natural dyes...
Rose Bushes and Mud Paths: a place called Phulia
Phulia is a clean picturesque town. Getting here takes two hours, depending on time of day. I left Kolkata at 4:30 AM and reached Phulia...
Potatoes and puri: delicious breakfasts in Jamdani country
It was a magical instrument that skinned vegetables, peeled them and chopped them into pieces....
The poem that gave jamdanis the phrase “woven air.”
It is almost a tired cliche. As anyone about jamdanis-- or chanderis for that matter-- and they will trot out the phrase, "woven air." The...
