Today I wanted to highlight something close to my cultural heritage of Bangladesh. After my recent trip, I was blown away by the talent and creativity of artisans from Bangladesh, in particular the craftspeople who produce JAMDANI. Jamdani is a fine, hand woven muslin that creates sarees. Jamdani reached a pinnacle during the latter period of the Mughal empire (15th century). The ultimate test of its fineness was to pass a sari width through a small golden ring. Centuries before the arrival of the Mughals, the Bengali textile industry had exported fine cotton muslins to both Roman and Chinese empires. The Greek geographer Megasthenes described Bengali muslins in the 4th Century BC. The Romans were so inspired by the fabric’s diaphanous quality they called it “woven air”. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the fabric became a much desired and expensive trade good exported west to Kabul, Baluchistan, Persia, Arabia and Greece. Jamdani continued to be produced and exported during the days of the British Raj, but the British supported their own agriculture and textile industries at India’s expense, and the quality of Bengali jamdani declined. Recently, quality has returned with revived interest in traditional Indian textiles. Today, jamdani is produced more or less as it has been for centuries. Last month, UNESCO declared Jamdani Saris ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ – an outstanding and exciting achievement for a craft that many outside of the subcontinent have never known or heard of. This declaration serves to raise awareness of the intangible heritage of Bangladesh and provide recognition to the makers and its communities traditions and know how that reflects their cultural diversity. So next time you see someone wearing a Jamdani saree you may know why it is so special!!
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 05:02:51 +0000