Anupama Nair
The rustle of silk has fascinated most women from time immemorial, all around the world, be it a queen or a commoner. Indian silks were popular across the world from ancient times till the present day. Textiles from the Subcontinent are as “vast and enchanting, like an ocean of many tempting colors” The history of silk is more than five thousand years old. Silk is one of the oldest fabrics known to man. The history of silk can be traced back to 2700 BC in China, and the use of silk was limited only to the Chinese at the time. Silk in the Indian Subcontinent is now considered a luxury. The silk is called “paat” in East India, “Resham” in the North and “pattu” in the South.
India is a known as a country of remarkable variety and a unique liveliness. In its spellbinding background of clothing styles and colorful clothes, the silks of the Indian Subcontinent stand out with their soft textures and aesthetic appeal. The fabric is used to create a varied range of textiles that furnish to the clothing desires of all the categories of people here as well as the rest of the world. In fact, we make clothes suitable for most countries of the world be it shimmering European gowns or tuxedos or shirts, we make it all. I have even seen Europeans and Americans wearing our sarees with such grace. Today, Indian Subcontinent ranks as the largest consumer of silk, and the second largest silk producer in the world after China. When it comes to the types of silk fabric produced in the Subcontinent, every region from Peshawar to Chittagong and Kashmir to Kanya Kumari, and even Sri Lanka boasts of its unique kind. Such fabrics are interlaced from different kinds of natural silk produced in the region. I am providing you a glimpse of the types of natural silks found in the Indian Subcontinent and the types of silk fabric weaved from them.
Saree is frequently worn by women in the Subcontinent. Sarees bring out the best in a woman, age is no barrier – be it farewell in school or Traditional Day in office, old or young there is an unparalleled charm and grace. Did you know Saree is developed from the Sanskrit word “Shati”, meaning a strip of cloth?
You might be surprised to hear the discovery of silk was by an accident. The Empress Leizu of China was having tea one day when a silk worm's cocoon fell into her cup. In its attempt to get out, the thread of the cocoon began to unroll and the Empress thought of weaving the thread. Her husband encouraged his wife to study the life of silk worm, and so she learned the art of raising silk worms or what is now called sericulture. She taught this skill to her people, as well and thus the silk industry was born
For many centuries, the Chinese kept silk a secret from the rest of the world. Only in around 1000 BC, the Silk Routes were opened across Asia, linking the Mediterranean countries, as well as North Africa and Europe. By then, countries such as India and Japan learned the science of sericulture and soon became a part of the eastern monopoly of silk production.
