Bandhani from Rajasthan

Bandhani Saris

As history has it, the first Bandhani saris were worn at Bana Bhatt’s Harshacharita, the occasion being a royal wedding. Rajasthani weavers have been practicing the art for over five thousand years, and are famous for producing incredibly intricate and colourful designs.

Bandhani (from the Hindi word bandhan, i.e. to tie) is an effect achieved through a highly specialized technique where a piece of cloth is bound in multiple places using thread, before dying. This results in the creation of fantastic designs such as leheriya (the wave pattern), edkali (the dotted pattern), jalebi (a pattern of swirls), and satbandi (a pattern involving groups of seven).

Yellow, red, blue, green, black and pink are classic bandhani colours, each with its own meaning. For instance, red is a wedding colour and symbolises luck in a woman’s married life, while yellow implies recent motherhood. Bandhani saris, being vibrant are suitable for a variety of occasions- be it a day time function or festive wear.