Sari always a Class -Post2

The history of Indian Sari is as old as Indian history. Sari is a piece of untailored cloth about 6-7 meters length, worn in different pattern in India. The style is varying from region to region. The mention of sari is found in two famous epics "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata", presumably written way back in 1500 B.C. But the history of sari is older than that period even. The excavation took place in "Harappa" and "Mohenjo-Daro" , now in Pakistan, before the arrival of Aryans, show that even then the sari was worn. They are 4500-5000 years old civilizations.

So it is quite difficult to pin point when the sari emerged as a wrapper of women flock in India. But it had a long way to go. The sari became a trade mark of India, because despite of diverse language, culture, and ethnicity the sari became a symbol of unity in India. This is eminent since the time immemorial, there is no record ; where and how it was woven first. But it must have been woven as the depiction of the epics narrates. So, the history of cotton cultivation and making threads out of it, requires to be implored. The cotton is presently cultivated and since ancient time was cultivated in the western part of India. At present the state of Gujrat or the western coast lies in the area where since ancient time the cotton was cultivated. Since cotton cultivated, so the cotton threads must have been churned out there first. That followed the looms, I mean hand-looms. But ever since the recorded history is available, that shows that not the cotton, but the silk was the first to churn out sari in different parts of India. The Indian silks were more or less contemporary of Chinese silks. Considering these facts it may be assumed that the first sari was woven with silk thread. Then the loom might not have existed, so with more complex and time consuming process, the sari was woven by hands.

 
However, Indian sari , offered a great scope for industries since ancient time too. There were famous community of weavers, who were masters of particular saris. Still they are available in many parts of India, they are famous for the silk, of cotton hand-loom woven saris, and still commands the market in domestic as well as internationally. To name a few, the Benerasi Silk, Bangla Tant ( hand Loom made), the Mysore silk, Kashimiri Silk and many more to name.
The history of sari is as ancient as the history of India, if you look at the Hindu deities, you find them wearing saris! How old they are , these questions are yet to be answered !

By Abhiroop Bhattacharya