Kanjivaram Silk Sarees

Kanchipuram /Kancheepuram

The South Indian bride, is typically dressed in a resplendent Kanjivaram silk saree for her wedding. The six yard eponymous saree is absolute poetry. The colours & the weave are magnificent, unique & unparalleled in beauty & grace. It is an heirloom saree.

Kancheepuram or Kanjivaram is a small town in the State of Tamil Nadu in South India, famous for its historic temples & traditional silk sarees. It is is about 75 Kms from Chennai, the capital city.

During the Pallava rein, Kanchipuram was the capital city of the region. The town itself is a melting pot of religion & architecture and is on the banks of the Vegvathi river.The famous Kamakshi Amaan Temple, Varadaraja Swami Temple and Ekambareswar Temple are historically significant.In fact, it is one of the Holy cities of the Hindus. And it is in this town that the famous Kanjivaram silk saree is woven.

Shops in Kanchipuram –Prakash Silks ,AS Babu Sah

Available at Chennai:- Pothys, Kumaran Silks, RMKV, Nalli Silk Sarees, A.S. Babu Sah, Vara Mahalaxmi Silks, Shrinivas Silks, Tulsi silks, Kanakavalli, Kanchi Weavers, Sundari Silks, Rasi Silks, Man Mandir

Shop in Delhi at:- Nalli Silk sarees L’affaire

Available at Bangalore:- KSIC Mysore Silk, Vijayalakshmi Silks & Sarees, Prasiddhi Silks, Angadi Silks, Gaurang, Kuberan Silks, Ladies Wear House, Samyakk Bridal Wear, Deepam

Available at Kolkata:- Savera Sarees, Ananda Sarees, Rupahali Sarees, Traders Assembly, Benarasi Kuthi

What is Kanjivaram Silk

Silk weaving is a cottage industry in Kanchipuram. There are looms in several houses in this town and the sarees are woven there.Weaver communities from the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh migrated to Kanchipuram under the patronage of the king. The beautiful temple architecture is an absolute inspiration for the weaving of the beautiful sarees.

Further, Mulbery silk is procured from Bangalore and the zari is procured form Gujarat. Six yards of saree is woven in the looms in Kanchipuram. The border, body and pallu (shoulder throw),also known as mundhani, of the sarees are created separately and then joined together. The colours of the saree would represent mango yellow, parrot green, peacock blue, lotus pink and so on. The vivid descriptions aptly describe the saree colours.

Designs on the Kanjivaram silk sarees

The zari work on the body of the saree or the pallu would typically be flowers such as lotus,jasmine, rose, or animal motifis such as a peacock or a deer ,or exquisite geometric patterns. Temple sarees would typically represent temple architecture on the saree.

Zari is typically gold threads (dipped in gold yarn). However,with the rising prices of gold,it could be silver or copper and not real gold threads.Further, it would take approximately 2 to 3 weeks to create a beautiful silk saree.

Silk sarees are produced in stunning colours with contrasting colour borders. Stripes, checks butis (dots) are some of the other popular patterns used in weaving the Kanjivaram silk saree. Some sarees have no zari either on the body or on the pallu while others have extensive zari on the border, the body and the pallu. In addition, some silk sarees are created with beautiful silk embroidery or jacquard embroidery.

The real Kanjivaram silk sarees could cost upwards of Rs 6000/piece going upto Rs 25000/piece.However, with more work & zari the costs would be higher.