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| History of silk weaving in Pakistan |
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Friday, November 20, 2009
Ishrat Hyatt
Islamabad
The Arts and Crafts sub-group of the Asian Study Group (ASG) organised a discussion on the history of silk weaving in the subcontinent with a special reference to the silks developed and patronised by the Mughal kings and queens.
An exhibition of these magnificent silks was also arranged, taking us back in time to the opulent courts of the Mughals who loved to dress up in beautiful clothes.
Volunteer Ambreen Hayat, who is in charge of this sub-group says she is ‘passionate’ about the subject, gave a talk to the members who attended. Ambreen began by welcoming the members and said the arts and crafts of a civilisation are the indicators of its development, while the measurement of development of any society is bound in the paradigm of development of its culture. Thousands of years ago, as man struggled for refinement and betterment of his living conditions, he developed looms to weave cloth to adorn himself.
The subcontinent has a remarkable history of fabric weaving in the world and the Indus Valley was weaving fabulous materials not only for its own inhabitants, but also exporting them to far away kingdoms — silk production can be traced back 4,000 years to Mohenjodaro. These strong traditions of magnificent handlooms still continue in present day Pakistan. Beautiful hand woven brocades and soft, delicate hand woven chiffons represent the degree of refinement achieved after thousands of years of collective institutional history of weaving in the region.
Ambreen gave the names of the many fabrics — silk and cotton — that are recognised by their pattern or their weave - ‘kamkhawb,’ ‘khaddar,’ ‘karundi,’ etc. The silk is imported from China, but some local silk is also available. The Khairpur weavers dye the silk thread before weaving and not after the material is woven because they feel the cloth gets a better sheen and texture, if the silk is dyed first.
On display — and a ‘’this time only’ sale as Azadar Hussain had come especially for the event — were the richly coloured, gorgeous materials of the weavers of Khairpur, who now work from Karachi because of the unsettled conditions in the hometown they migrated to over seventy years ago. Saris and suit pieces were available in traditional designs as well as computer generated ones. “We deal directly with the customer and avoid the middleman to keep our prices reasonable,” said Azadar, “We are called by customers when they need special material or there is a special event to showcase Pakistani products.”
The story goes that the Nawab of Khairpur was so impressed with the silks he saw when he visited Benaras (now Varanasi) in India that he persuaded many of the weavers to migrate to Khairpur, providing them all the facilities they needed to settle in a new place.
To keep their work authentic these artisans carried their spindles and patterns with them and these are still being used to this day!
It is widely believed that the silks woven by these people are now superior to those woven in their original hometown, but Azadar says they have not received the official patronage they deserve and this fact is generally not known except to those who are his customers.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
