Murshidabad Silk : The story of the golden threads. Most of the people relate the place- Murshidabad with Siraj Ud Daulah & Murshidabad Silk. Murshidabad has witnessed a golden legacy of innumerable important historical events that changed the history of India. Murshidabad is the second largest silk producing district in West Bengal. The position of Murshidabad near the Bhagirathi river made the town an important center for Silk Trade. Muslin, Jamdani and Baluchari Butidar Sarees from Murshidabad can be found in the Art Galleries of the Indian Museum in Kolkata, too.
Murshidabad Silk and Its Importance in Indian History
George C. M. Birdwood, the renowned art referee for the Indian
Section of the South Kensington Museum in his book 'The Industrial Arts of India
(1800)' said - "The City of Murshidabad is still famous all over the world
for its gold brocades or Kincabs." This clearly shows the importance of
Murshidabad as a silk manufacturing hub. Murshidabad was the main center of
silk manufacturing and was producing Muslin, Jamdani & Baluchari Butidar
silk sarees for the families of Nawabs.
During the early 17th Century the Murshidabad Silk
attracted foreign merchants. The foreign merchants used to call the Murshidabad
Silk as Bengal Silk. Kassimbazar ( now called Cossimbazar) was the main hub of the manufacturing
of Murshidabad Silk. Approximately around the 1650s, the East India company started
opening “Kuthi” ( A property where business dealings take place or business are
conducted). The Murshidabad Silk enabled the Britishers to establish a Business
Center in India and later they would use this to take entire control of India.
The Dutch, Portuguese, French also got interested by the Murshidabad Silk and
started setting up Kuthis across the Kassimbazar.
 |
| (Cossimbazar Silk Factory from other side of Hooghly) |
Looking at the opportunity in trading Murshidabad Silk the Britishers
opened their first Kuthi or Factory at Kassimbazar in approx. 1658 AD. Slowly
they started building more factories and started keeping ships on the
Bhagirathi river to transport Murshidabad silk to the world. Soon Murshidabad
became one of the important business centers in India. The local people flourished
and the silk weavers were the many beneficiaries. They became so important in
the society that the silk weavers were often presented as gifts by the royal
families or given as dowry.
Slowly the factory steps up by the East India Company started employing
the local Murshidabad silk weavers. After Siraj Ud Daulah was defeated in the
Battle of Plassey in 1757, the East India Company and Robert Clive started
showing the true colors.
 |
| (Source) |
Now instead of shipping the manufactured Murshidabad Silk, they would
ship the raw materials to Britain and they would bring back the manufactured
silk to India and sell it at an extremely high price. The Britishers would
start collecting tax on the sale of raw silk and would control the price of the
raw silk. This lead to the local people getting poorer & this practice led
to the dwindling of the silk weavers. The entire focus started shifting from
manufacturing silk to just producing raw silk. However, this was not long Britisher
around 1833 started closing the factories of silk as they started incurring
losses. This lead to the complete destruction of the silk industry in Murshidabad.
However, through Silk trade the Britishers set a strong foothold in
the Eastern Part of India which eventually helped them to control the economics
in the region. This helped them to conspire along with the rich merchants of
the region against the Nawab of Bengal Siraj Ud Daulah and defeat him in the
Battle of Plassey which was one major turning point in the history of India.
Why Murshidbad Got Famous for Silk Sarees
Murshidabad is known for the premium
quality of silk. The quality of silk not only depends on the silkworm but also on the art of weaving. How the silk threads are extracted from the cocoon and how
it is weaved makes the silk special.
Murshidabad is famous for its
Murshidabad silk saree made of fine mulberry silk with maroon and red borders .In
earlier years the borders were laced with Gold Zari. Murshidabad silks are also
popular for hand-printed designs and other materials which are also printed
with wooden blocks.
When Murshid Quli Khan shifted
his capital from Dacca to Murshidabad the weavers also shifted with him.
Murshidabad soon became known for the Dhaka Muslin Saree made of Silk and
Cotton. Later it became known Bengal Muslin.
The Bengal muslin saree became
the favorites of the Mughal empire and was a treasure for them. The quality of
the Muslin Silk Saree was so superior that it could fit inside a small matchbox.
Murshidabad was also famous for
its Baluchari silk Sarees. It's not known to many people that the Baluchari
sarees were first weaved in a village called Baluchar in Murshidabad. Later due
to some natural calamities the weaving community shifted to Bishnupur. Now Bishnupur is known for
Baluchari sarees, however, Murshidabad was the place where the Baluchari silk
saree weaving started.
Along with Muslin Silk Saree,
Murshidabad was also famous for its Jamdani Silk Sarees. The Jamdani silk saree
is famous for its Persian designs. The Jamdani is the king of Muslin silk saree
is sought after for its quality. It is said that every Bengali owns at least one
Jamdani silk saree. The Jamdani sarees are often passed on through generations
as an heirloom.
Another kind of saree which is
famous in Murshidabad is Garad saree. This kind of saree is mostly white or off
white in color and have plain borders. These are mostly woven from Mulberry or
Tussar Silk.
No city on earth could produce 4
or more variety of sarees with finesse the way Murshidabd produced. Murshidabad
became to be known as the Silk Capital of India and all European powers started
coming to Murshidabad to trade silk.
How Murshidabad Silk Saree is Made
Before looking at the process of
how Murshidabad silk saree is made it's important to understand the pain taking the process of extracting the silk threads from the cocoon. Once you know the
process you will appreciate the Murshidabad silk sarees more.
The process of making silk is
known as Sericulture. The silk threads are made from the cocoons of the silkworms. It requires approx. 8 cocoons to make one thread of approx. 200 meters.
The process of sericulture is
detailed below:
Farming the Silk Worms
At first the
eggs are put inside the mulberry leaves so that they can hatch.
Once the
silkworms hatch from the eggs they vigorously feed on the mulberry leaves.
The silkworms
feed for 4 days and then the next day they completely fast and don’t eat for
one day. On this day when they don't eat they shed their existing skin to grow just like the snakes do. This process keeps on repeating.
They keep on
growing for around 30 days till the color of the silkworms turn light
yellowish and the size is approximately 2-3 inches.
The preparing of Silk Cocoons
Once the silk
worms reach 30 days they start making the cocoons. They take approximately 48
hours to weave a cocoon around their body.
The cocoons are
bright yellow in color.
Once the silk cocoons
are completed the cocoons are plucked and kept in the sun for 1 day.
The silk cocoons
are placed under the sun so that the caterpillar dies inside the cocoon.
The process of extracting Silk Threads from Silk Cocoons
The silk cocoons
are boiled in the water for approximately 1-2 hours. During the boiling process, the cocoons become soft.
Automatically one
small end of the thread comes out. This part is extremely important if the silk
threads are pulled from anywhere part from this end the cocoon breaks up and a
single thread can’t be extracted rendering the threads unusable.
This single thread is fed into the machine so that the entire 200 meters of silk thread can be extracted. 8 Threads are extracted at one go and made into a single thread. The silk threads are so delicate that one thread can’t be used to weave the silk saree.
This single thread is fed into the machine so that the entire 200 meters of silk thread can be extracted. 8 Threads are extracted at one go and made into a single thread. The silk threads are so delicate that one thread can’t be used to weave the silk saree.
The silk threads
are then colored and rolled up into bobbins. These bobbins are then used in the
weaving machine to make the Murshidabad silk saree.
How the Silk Sarees are weaved
The silk sarees
are weaved in a loom. The most commonly used loom is called Pit Loom. Since
the silk sarees are weaved with hands on the loom its often called Handloom
sarees. A handloom silk saree costs more than a machine weaved saree For weaving
a silk saree in a handloom it takes approximately 5-7 days to weave one saree.
The Murshidabad
silk sarees are weaved by intersecting silk threads. The major components of the
pit loom are: Warp Beam, heddles, harness, shuttle, reed, and takeup roll. There is a pit seat where the weaver sits to weave the Murshidabad silk saree. From this, the loom gets its name as pit loom.
Loading of the Loom
Before the weaving process of the silk saree is started the loom is loaded with the silk threads.The silk yarn is prepared in yarn sheets by rolling it on an iron rod. This process is called beaming as a beam of an iron rod is used. For this process, the strands of the silk threads are passed to various holes in the loom. This process itself takes 1-2 days.Punch Card Making & Loading it in the Loom
As a child when I used to see the weaving process I always used to think how the weavers get the designs right. The designs of the silk saree are made into punch cards and the punch cards are loaded to the loom. The silk threads pass through these punch cards and based on the placement of the colors the design is made on the silk saree.
The Weaving Process of Murshidabad Silk Saree
It takes approximately 4-5 days to complete making a Murshidabad Silk Saree.The weaver keeps on pressing the pedal of the loom and pulls the knob the loom to create a mesh of the silk threads which form the famous Murshidabad Silk Saree.
Where to see the Weaving Process & Buy
Murshidabad Silk Saree
Barikothi a Heritage Hotel is located in the Jain patty in Murshidabad and offers Silk Tour experiences in Murshidabad. When you stay at Barikothi just request to go for the Murshidabad Weaver colony tour.
For booking and tariff, kindly contact Barikothi at info@barikothi.com or call them at +919051200800
You can see the weaver colony and the weaving process at Tantipara in Murshidabad. There are many small shops at Tantipara in Murshidabad from where you can buy the authentic Murshidabad Silk Saree.
If you are not going to Murshidabad and happen to be in Kolkata you can buy authentic Murshidabad Silk Saree from Indian Silk House Agencies.
Disclaimer: I was hosted by Barikothi during my tour to Murshidabad. However, the views and process explained here are completely my own and no way influenced by the authorities/companies. This article has been written out of sheer love of heritage and no monetary gain has been made from the said authorities.
If you own a Murshidabad Silk Saree share your experiences in the comment section below.
Glad I got to learn so much more on Murshidabad Silk Saree in your post. It is indeed a beautifully woven piece of clothing. Wish to own lne soon.
ReplyDeleteWow, you did a great job. That was very detailed. I had no idea about Murshidabad Silk Saree, but now I know a lot about it. Thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to buy murshidabad silk saree... I'm sure it will look divine .. this post explains the significance of culture and art .
ReplyDeleteI had heard about Murshidabad silk Saree but u gave an insightful detailed post on it.
ReplyDeleteGreat job.
I never knew the history about this. Such an informative article.
ReplyDeleteLoved to read your post, so informative and with amazing pictures. Would love to visit this place one day
ReplyDeleteReally very informative dear.. this article is really interesting and engaging
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting to read! I love the range of posts, there is really something for everyone. Thank you for sharing your suggestions too, great post!
ReplyDeleteExcellent article! I'm a handloom enthusiast, and would be interested to learn more on Murshidabad silk weaving. Is there an email id or number where we can connect? Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteHi thanks. you can mail me on shoestringtravel.in@gmail.com
DeleteIts very interesting to read how the silk sarees are weaving.. Thanks for sharing this.. very useful one
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteInteresting
ReplyDeleteThanks for publishing such a beautiful crafted informative post. i reall y dont known about so many facts about murshidabad silk.
ReplyDeleteGood information
ReplyDelete