The Wonderful Weave of Chanderi | tradition of Chanderi weaving | heart of India

Known for their beautiful texture which is airy and light the Chanderi weave comes from a small town tucked away in the deep heart of India, from where it gets its name.
Chanderi, is situated over 200 km away from the historic town of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.. Located in the Ashok Nagar district, Chanderi was founded by the Pratiharas in the 10th century. It was located on the Dakshinapath, the ancient trade route to the Deccan, and it continued to be a significant city in medieval India, as it got incorporated within the domain of the Delhi Sultanate rulers. The 14th-century Moroccan traveller Ibn Batuta talks about the wealth and prosperity of Chanderi in his records. It once again gained prominence under the Malwa Sultans and Bundela Rajputs, who ruled the region in the 15th and 16th century.
While we don’t know when weaving of the Chanderis, as we know it started, there is an interesting legend that links the weave to the Mahabharata! Locals believe that the Chanderi fabric was introduced by Lord Krishna’s cousin Shishupaal. Some sources also suggest that the ancient technique of Chanderi weaving existed even between the 2nd and 7th centuries CE.
Historically speaking there is evidence to show that the weaving tradition here gained prominence in the 13th Century, when the town was under Alauddin Khilji’s rule. According to local weavers, a saint came and settled at Chanderi during this time. A community of weavers migrated with him, from the area of Bengal, which specialised in silk weaving, to Chanderi and started the weaving tradition here. This style, which incorporated working with gold and silver threads, was heavily influenced by Mughal designs at that time. The weavers even made garments for the officials of Delhi Sultanate and for the Mughal court. However, there’s also a reference to one of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s letter that talks about the decline in the Chanderi export.
It was under the rule of Scindias of Gwalior in the 19th century, that the tradition of Chanderi weaving saw a revival and saree weaving also started here. It is said that by the 19th Century, the Chanderi fabrics were as valuable as the Dhaka Muslin..
Visit Chanderi today and you can see the legacy of this weave everywhere, the streets are lined with looms where each artisan is engrossed in making these fabrics in the old traditional way in pit looms like this, using a combination of cotton and silk threads. The gold threads for the Zari in Chanderi is sourced from Surat and the silk comes from south India.. traditional motifs used in Chanderis include coins, flowers, plants and even geometrical patterns.
In recent years, Chanderi has seen a great revival, thanks to the efforts by the government..Today there is a wider range of blends, silks and pure cotton Chanderis too but it is the soft blends in pastel shades that really are the most popular renditions of Chanderi weaves…
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Wow... Splendid...

[@sanchitsingh5912]

Thank you for your detailed study!!!!!!

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What a beautiful weave!

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