The Kanjeevaram Sari, Graceful, Famous and A Proud Possession

Saris express the essence of womanhood. An Indian woman looks gorgeous when draped in this beautiful garment. Saris are available in a vast variety of materials such as cotton, silk, georgette, and chiffon. Saris are manufactured in many places in India; Gujarat in the West, Assam in the East, Rajasthan in the North and Bangalore in the South, thus covering practically the whole of India. One of the famous saris of South India is the Kanjeevaram sari.

Kanjeevaram saris are made in a small town Kanchipuram or ‘Kanchi’ as it is popularly called, which is situated near Bangalore. It is a 150 year old weaving tradition. The name of this sari is derived from the name of this town. These fine silk saris are simply gorgeous, with bright and bold colors. The wedding trousseau of a South Indian bride is incomplete without one of these saris. In fact, it would be the proud possession of any woman from any part of India.

The magnitude of colors, designs and variety in which these saris are available are incredible. The price of these saris vary from $50-100 for the simple ones up to $1500-1750 for the top quality ones.

The preparation of Kanjeevaram natural silk saris takes anything up to 25 days for the intricately designed silks. This sari is characterized by gold dipped silver thread that is woven on the silk. The thread is prepared first on the weavers loom, and then dyed in bright, beautiful colors before being dried in the sun. This sari is made in parts; the body, border and the pallu are made separately, and then they are interlocked together. The motifs used on these saris are mostly figures of animals and birds like peacocks, deer, elephants, swans etc. Scenes from great Indian Epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, and even The Bhagwad Gita are also woven to make special pieces.

The Kanjeevaram saris are traditional and never go out of fashion, even today they are in great demand and are very popular at the time of weddings.