Patan Patola Saree

Does not come with a blouse piece, as is customary for Patan Patolas.

Background on Patan Patolas:

The eternity sari -patan patola from Patan in Gujerat.  As far as generational saris go, this precious sari holds its pride of place.  It is supposed to last 300 years almost as long as the Greenland shark. It is one of the most expensive saris in India, equivalent to a real Zari Kanjiveraam or Benarasi or a fine pashmina sari.  Few sarees have the strength of durability of the patan Patola. A Kanjeevaram is usually a 3ply warp by 2 ply weft... the patan Patola starts with 8 threads, or 8ply! It can be worn on both sides. The mystery is in the weaving.  And then some. To create a patola sari, both the warp and weft threads are wrapped to resist the dye according to the desired pattern of the final woven fabric. This tying is repeated for each colour that is to be included in the finished sari. The technique of dyeing the warp and weft before weaving is called double ikat. Once the threads are dyed, strands of pure gold-dipped silk thread are combined into the silk and then begins the "double ikat" loom weaving, the pure zari being an intrinsic part of the patan patola. Before the actual weaving starts, clearly, the design has to be planned out meticulously. The planning of this sari is a mathematical project and takes almost as much time as the weaving. The weaving time is prolonged for the weavers can do only a few inches of the sari in a day. The process of weaving a Patan patola, is so complex that it takes over 30 years to master. The sari originated in Patan, once the capital of Gujerat. Raja Kumarpal, a Jain monarch, in the 12th century is the first royal patron of the patan patola.  He had skilled weavers of the Salvi caste come from Maharastra to Patan to weave these objects of wearable art.  These saris were worn for all official and religious ceremonies and given to women as ‘Stridaan’ (trousseau gifts.) Apparently the patan patola has spiritual and miraculous powers; the wearer of the sari feels the ubiquitous presence of God.  It conveys elite status for women. It protects from all evil and ill health—it is a sari that is like a talisman, it augurs good omens. There are inherent meanings in all objects but the meanings ascribed to it is what makes it infinitely valuable.  Naturally, there is a Gujerati folk song, “Chelaji Re, Mare Hatu patan thi patola mongha lavjo”,(O my dear! Do bring the precious patola from Patan for me!)