Chanderi, a quaint little town beside the Betwa river in the heart of India, Madhya Pradesh, has nurtured one of India’s treasured textile traditions – the Chanderi fabric. Noted for its translucent, lightweight quality and woven zari work, this fabric tradition has survived several centuries and has evolved dynamically through the eras. Legends trace the beginning of the weaving tradition back to the Mahabharata or the Vedic ages, attributing it to Lord Krishna’s cousin, Sishupala. Historical evidence, however, suggests the popularization of Chanderi by the Pratiharas of Bundelkhand, who traded the exquisite fabric through the Dakshinapatha. The Delhi Sultan, Alauddin Khilji further patronized the craft in the 13th century. There are references in the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s letters that talk about the decline in the export of Chanderi. Under the Scindias of Gwalior in the 19th century, the tradition of Chanderi weaving saw a revival. It is said that during the time, Chanderi fabrics were as valuable as the Dhaka muslins. Chotelal ji and his wife, who have been weaving Chanderi material for the last six decades, pride themselves in weaving turbans for the Maharajas of Baroda which, in spite of being 35 meters in length, weighed only around 60 grams.
The weaving process in the town of Chanderi is an ideal instance of creating more with less. The base material can be either cotton or silk or a mixture of both, in eloquent pastel shades, while the motifs or “buttis” are woven in golden zari. The cotton is locally sourced or imported from the neighboring state of Gujarat; the silk is imported from South India or Kashmir. A unique feature of Chanderi sarees is that the motifs are woven into the fabric demanding intense concentration and deft craftsmanship. Rehana Begum, one of the craftspeople at Chanderi says, “The threads in the warp are very delicate. They snap very often and resetting takes a lot of time. Brocading, too, is time-consuming; a simple flower can take up to an hour. Rectifying mistakes is tedious as designs have to be matched.” The motifs on the fabrics are inspired by natural surroundings, flora, and fauna. Often found motifs include ‘ashrafi’, ‘bundaki’, ‘keri’, ‘chidi’, ‘ghungroo’, ‘phoolbutta’, ‘phoolpatti’, ‘zhaad’, ‘akhrot’, ‘mohar’, ‘morni’. In recent years, design interventions by artists from Indian and International design schools have led to the emergence of geometrical and abstract motifs in the weaves.
In the 1980s Chanderi production saw a steep decline due to the coming of machine-made cotton goods. Indigenous artisans could not keep up the rate of production through the traditional peg-shuttle looms. The Government of Madhya Pradesh was quick to take notice of the crisis and extended a helping hand to the artisans. They collaborated with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) who took up a cluster development initiative to help the artisans form their own collective, educate themselves with contemporary aesthetic sensibilities, providing a 50 percent subsidy to upgrade their looms, build schools and healthcare facilities for the artisanal families, and projecting the craft at a market. Presently, there are about 3000 active looms in Chanderi providing employment to over 18000 inhabitants. Women play a substantial role in the production process. Though the weavers are grateful for the interventions in the past and hope for the work to continue, the experts feel that it is imperative that investments must continue to be made in development and marketing. The re-emergence of Chanderi has proved its capacity to embrace change and remold itself to the times.