FABRIC - Neem Reshmi Handloom
BORDER - Zari (tested) Patta
BODY - Zari checkered
BUTTI - Rui Phool
BLOUSE - Plain-stripped
PALLA - 18”- Rui phool line on both ends
When the environment influences the craft it gets nurtured in and that is beautifully reflected in this motif of the Rui-phool, the cotton bud. Central India, due to its climate and black soil, is most suitable for cotton farming, and hence an abundance of rural landscape is made up of the white cloud like Cotton bud farms. There is evidence of it carved out on the fort walls, which acts as an illustrative source which influences the visual culture. A geometric representation of the cotton bud, taken directly from the fort carvings- takes forward the history from stone to cloth in this archival saree. In reviving this saree, we are honoring the land, its resources, the people, and the stories etched into its history.
This saree is an attempt at re-creating the iconic bute-daar saree of Maharani Chandravati Baisaab Holkar, queen of Maharaj of Indore TukajiRao Holkar. The sheer grandeur of the Kora and Biscuti Neem Reshmi, is achieved through zari checks running across the body, with the evergreen rui phool buta also woven in Zari. The saree drapes and stands magnificently with the sheerness of the neem reshami and crispness if the zari pattas shining through. This saree is meticulously woven over a span of 15 days, with remarkable patience and skillful experienced hands that have woven a total of 2109 rui phool butis.
This detailed dense circular buti, enclosed within the zari checks, feels like its floating in the sheerness of the neem reshmi.
