One of the most ancient and celebrating cultures weaved throughout India’s history and legacy is handloom. A saree being the epitome of it, is sometimes referred to as the jewels on the crown. The hand-woven “Khandua or Nuapatna” saree from the Cuttack district of Odisha was painstakingly woven by the handloom weavers of Nuapatna and Maniabandha. The sarees are decorated with vibrant imprints of traditional patterns and calligraphy that has a beautiful aesthetic. They have been referred to as “the glory of Odisha” by the Puri Deities and flaunted by professional international Odissi dancers.
History of Khandua
Khandua is fairly old for the state and has its origins in Odisha’s temple culture. The materials have historical significance since they were used to outfit and present Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath’s idols. This practice is still honoured today. The two villages of Nuapatna and Maniabandha, as well as the places around them, have a rich tradition of producing traditional ikat, tie-dyed cotton, and silk fabrics that date back many centuries. The sarees have served as a heritage, and the craftsmanship has been passed down through the local communities’ generations of craftsmen.
The Weaving Technique
The craftsmanship is laborious, complex, detailed, primal, and extravagant. Mulberry silk yarn, occasionally in conjunction with cotton or tassar yarn, is used to weave khandua sarees. To create the ikat patterns or designs, cotton or pure silk yarn is the primary raw material used for the garments. To remove the natural gum from the raw silk yarn that is purchased from the market, water is first boiled with a proportional mixture of soap powder and soda ash.
The method of making a saree essentially involves two dyeing steps: the first creates the saree’s color, and the second determines the color of the motifs that will be printed on it to produce the multicolored pattern. The yarn is connected to a wooden frame once it has dried. For the first fold of dyeing, bindings, separators, or clusters made of cotton threads or rubber bands are inserted in key locations and dyed. After drying, the bindings are removed from any areas that need not be dyed in the second round of dyeing, and fresh bindings are applied. This process is repeated until the desired multicolored pattern of the saree is achieved.
The Maniabandhi
The traditional spinning wheel known as the chakra is then used to begin the weaving process. The sarees are finally starched, fastened to wooden rolls, and allowed to dry in the sun to give them rigidity and luster. The saree’s body is a light tint, while the border and pallav are a contrasting color (anchal). At the Nuapatna’s corners, this flawless craftsmanship is done in a delightful manner. Each of the artist’s castles has a story to tell. They have sharp eyes that can clearly see tales of beauty, of invention, of poise, and of constancy.
They show their creativity an enormous level of respect. They exclusively exhibit and discuss their work in front of an aesthetic or a craftsperson. The esteem for the artisan must go beyond the respect for their line of work. Recently, the saree has felt the burden of modernisation to cater to the rising demand. The dominant colors of the prints are maroon, yellow, pink, and cream. These lovely patterns are also used by the artisans to create bed sheets, pillow cases, stoles, dupattas, cushion covers, tablecloths, door screens, clothing fabrics, and handkerchiefs in addition to sarees.
Final Thoughts
If the other side of the coin is not highlighted, the brilliance of the Khandua saree would be lacking. The saree is a tradition that has been passed down through generations of weavers, who nevertheless struggle with socioeconomic backwardness and poverty despite their painstaking crafts. Recent studies indicate that the government’s support is insufficient. Long-term viability of the craft, the weavers’ alternatives for a living, and the state’s export potential are all significantly hampered by this.
To keep the tradition alive and thriving, it is urgently necessary to have a better and more consistently monitored raw material supply, introduction to cutting-edge technology, financial aids, appropriate advertising to spread the skill, online influence to sell products directly to prevent the infiltration of profits, along with political support.