Weaving tradition and modernity
Banaras is the Beginning of Everything, both Life and Death. The mighty Ganga, ever-present, becomes a metaphor for the space between these two dots. One comes here and is ensnared, into the way of the Banarasi - ever ready to chat, the river is mother, and chai is always included.
As ancient as its civilization is its weaving tradition, overtime Banaras has developed as a one stop destination for the best weaving and embroidery in the country. It’s mastery over silk is legendary in design circles. Hemang Agrawal, Textile and Fashion Designer based out of this city, works with silk that merges contemporary design with tradition. He constantly supplies to continental Europe and Japan. Four collections in the previous Paris Fashion Week also carried a lot of their work.
He mentions that Banaras’ USP is its handloom and “its edge over China lies in its capacity to be able to service small orders as well as large. It is not limited by international orders consigned in kilometers. Banaras has always been more of a couture market.”
Even as silk remains the mainstay of Benares, it is now diversifying to other areas. Maqbool Hasan, National Awardee, Handicrafts holds forth, “Earlier we used to only make saris, wool work had never been done. We started it by working on shawls. Now wool is being blended with silk, cotton even pashmina - all natural fibres.” And we know it’s worth its dime because in a scenario where every year the national award in shawls is given to Kashmir but this shawl that now adorns the office walls of Hasan sahib, this lone ranger aptly titled “Kashmir se Kashi Tak’ brought it home for Banaras.
Sandeep Wahi, Owner at Mangalam Exports has an even more interesting take. “Varanasi is the original hub of fabric: Bhagalpur may do matka, zari, muga, tasar; Bangalore does dupion; Cotton is from the south and Maharashtra. We (Banaras) can do all that and silk because that is our specialty.”
Wahi was detrimental in setting up the new dyeing unit in Banaras. While his focus is more on fabric than saris, the dyeing plant has been welcome news for people working across the board in the fabric industry in Banaras. “Even the sari people are happy because now they can dye linen and cotton easily and without pollution.”
This initiative not only helps the weavers but the industry and the city itself. Varanasi already has pollution problems aplenty with the river coming under strain due to the waste from leather tanneries post Kanpur. Add to that the sludge of dyeing and the Ganga goes beyond rescue. So when a trader led initiative that manages to marry traditional craft with modern dyeing and printing techniques give the city and its river a new lease of life.
The unit provides the Japanese technique OEKTO TEX, the best organic dyeing standards. The unit provides global standards of dyeing, the affluent is clean, the colour is taken out and the water is recycled, so even natural resources are not being heavily consumed. While this is the only plant in the city right now, three more are expected by the beginning of next year.
Banaras is also venturing into another new territory, cotton and linen printed saris. “No one has done that yet. Anavila is doing amazing stuff in the same fabric but it’s still not printed. Traditional screen printing and block printing will be done but technology will be used to process the textile with specialized machinery. Siemens has designed the flow of it and Forbes Marshall has provided the walls - so the steam, temperature is very precise. And for hand printing we’ll be getting paste from Italy.”
So as Benares supersedes its status from being a silk destination to now a dyeing and printing hub, there is one more feather in its cap, Perfuming! “South Indian zari saris that are meant for pujas (religious ceremonies); usually ivory in colour with red patta - will now be infused with the smell of sandalwood, which will last up to five to six washes. Not only has the product been tested but a sample has been developed,” says Wahi.
Another niche that has built a stronghold in Banaras is the Tibetan brocade fabric. Mobassir, a third generation weaver and now man in-charge at Banaras Export House has found a large expat client base for it in Tibet and Europe. It finds loyal customers in monks and priests and even decorative wall hangings. Kimkhaab brocade and Tibetan brocade is their specialty but even they are looking to branch out to doing some cotton jacquard, the soon to be trending fabric, he tells us in whispers. And is this a credible source? His tips come all the way from PremiereVision so we are willing to believe him.
Even as Banaras has proven to be this versatile textile hub; the birthplace of silk that also does world class linen, cotton, brocade, Tibetan brocade, kimkhaad and is now a world class destination for dyeing and printing, many things plague the industry that hold it back from being a true world class destination. Political will is clearly inclined in the favour of the weavers and they must leverage it to put Banaras further on the world fashion map than it already is.
Sufficient in creation but lacking in marketing, the traders are taking further steps to ensure that the Made in Banaras reputation is resurrected to its previous glory. The Indian market is maturing, now there is R&D and sampling and people ask for colour cards; Sandeep Wahi will be grading his textiles at Managalam exports and adding branding certified from GOTS labs since they’ve only been using GOTS textile for the past three years.
Home furnishing has become a new territory for Vaibhav Kapoor where luxe, high end fabric translates to sheets, cushions and upholstery and is not limited to saris. Haseen Ahmed from Diamond Silk is also a major supplier to Heimtextil in Frankfurt and fabindia, GoodEarth, FutureGroup. “If it goes to fabindia it becomes their product, we don’t have our own branding”, so branding is also a direction he is looking at.
As marketing and branding become buzzwords, a lot of out of the box ideas are forthcoming. Kapoor suggests an affiliation with the Taj Group of Hotels. If the Front Office wears the Banaras weave it’ll generate interest among all the people coming to India. It’s a diagnostic that catches eyeballs innocuously. Hemang advises the government to amplify the promotion of products that Banaras makes via international or domestic fares, media collaborations with designers, advertisements, shows - real brand ambassadors.
Mobassir suggests starting a credit line for the weavers, similar to the lines of what is happening in Surat. Government support through a credit line will minimize the risk of small time weavers. Maqbool Hasan is also of the idea of giving a social economical and educational standing to the weaver. To make him a professional and award him certification of expertise from universities since this is highly skilled work and he can call himself a handloom engineer who can work anywhere in the world.
Wahi seems to have stopped waiting for the government and taken initiatives on his own. He intends to adopt some 10-12 weavers initially, “make a video about how the fabric is made, how much handwork goes into it, what is the weaver’s life like because at the end of the day you are not selling textile you are selling the dream and hard work of a person.”
There is a general optimistic feeling on the shores of the Ganga, with the industry collaborating and coming together in support of the weavers and ministerial level meetings being held in Banaras on the same issue. Hopefully with the legend of the Banaras weavers withstanding and this new injection of initiative the next time you go to Kashi it’ll be for more than to atone for your sins.