Vibrant and elegant
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Vegetable-dyed saris and fabric at Mrignayanee.
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Colourful array: At the exhibition.
The beautiful hues of Nature derived from flowers and bark and images of flora and frolicking birds and animals are the focus of Mrignayanee’s special exhibition of saris and fabric from Chanderi, Maheshwar and Bagh.
These towns, situated on the banks of the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh, are home to great sari traditions.
While Chanderi’s soft, gossamer thin and delicately woven saris are dyed in alluring ‘kesri’ and ‘badami’ (almond with a hint of saffron), ‘angoori’ or grape green and ‘morgardani’ or the jewel colours of a peacock’s neck, the Maheshwari sari’s reversible borders have motifs such as ‘chand tara’, ‘mayur’ and so on.
Straight from the weavers
And Bagh’s diffused motifs mostly in red and black celebrate, again in the colours of nature, the fine art of hand block printing on cotton.
A wealth of vegetable-dyed Maheshwari, Chanderi and Bagh cotton saris are on view at Mrignayanee, TNSB Complex, 180, Luz Church Road.
The exhibition brings the best of the saris straight from the weavers and craftspersons.
The saris, fabric and salwar kurta yardage are a veritable riot of colours and block printed elegance on silk-cotton Maheshwaris and Chanderis, cottons and tussars.
The Chanderis come in soft pastel colours with delicate traditional block prints giving them further allure.
Many of the Maheshwaris are in plain jewel or pastel shades, while a host of ‘amri’ and floral block prints set off the typical bordered elegance of this cotton silk sari.
The Bagh printed cottons are a class by themselves.
The motifs are typical Mughal floral imprints, ‘amris’, and dots.
Bright oranges and blues, shocking pinks and yellow ochres, rich beiges and greens, all derived from nature, are block printed with the diffused trademark of the Bagh technique.
The ‘pallavs’ are particularly evocative. The exhibition is on till June 31.
PUSHPA CHARI
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