During my travel to Madhya pradesh, I happened to visit this beautiful small town Maheshwar little did I realise that this place will fascinate me not just with its picturesque ghats along river Narmada and its famous Maheshwari sarees but I will also carry an inspiring and heart touching story of queen Ahalyabai Holkar. It goes like this...
The period of Ahalyabai is set during 1725-1795 where girls were married off at early ages and the queens raised their children with all the royal pampering. Tragic struck when Ahalyabai lost her husband at a very early age and with no male heir in the family was encouraged by her father in law to take up the administration of the kingdom. Like an able queen she was quick to learn the political nuances and became a very strong and powerful ruler. She won a lot of battles and expanded her kingdom making it politically and economically a strong state. She set up religious buildings all over the country to establish the mark of power, which stretched from Varanasi in North India to Rameshwaram in South India.
She was a queen not just with strong political and military chivalry but also a woman with compassion which won a lot of hearts of her subjects. One such feat that she established was setting up hand looms and empowering the women to weave and support themselves and their family. This mark of empowerment about 250 years before has its result seen even today in the textile industry with (women dominated) weavers weaving the famous Maheshwari weaves.
To me Ahalyabai Holkar's accomplishments despite her personal set backs and rigid society norms is so relatable to every woman even today, maybe in different contexts. Stories like hers and many other women only goes to show that we all have the strength to be leaders and only need to empower ourselves to the right knowledge and skills.
My picture wearing a Maheshwari saree....reminding me of my inner strength every time I wear it.
Thank you @vidya veeresh for this insightful biography and thank you more for the picture! But I have to ask you- what is the specialty of the Maheshwari sari? I found some information online that said this type pf sari has been around since the 5th century! And that it takes 3-15 days to make one sari!!
Does it have a different type of weave? What fabrics are used? As in, are they cotton or silk? Do we have a sari / fabric expert among our members??
We have to thank the queen Ahlayabai Holkar for this ever lasting gift- her 'kingdom' does not exist anymore, even monuments can fall apart over time....but a skill like this lives on, generation after generation!
This is a lesson for us too - if we want a legacy, make it a skills-based one that actually helps people, that way it not only lasts, but it 'lives' on! And a lesson for leadership too- capitalize, encourage, train and hone local skills- it will stand the test of time!
The write up from @vidya veeresh is good. Her photograph in the sari gives an idea of the beautiful drape, texture and colour assable of the Fabric. Thank you Vidya. Images like this make it eye catching .Good representation.
I have done a bit of research and study in the area of silk and published articles for various Newspapers and Magazines. In that connection, i did some digging into Maheswari Silks too as they are an integrail part of the Indian silk scenario.
Originally Maheswari was woven only in silk. Now it is done in cotton and mix of cotton and silk . But silks are the first choice.
Best quality of this fabric is it is light weight And can be worn anywhere, anytime by any type of persons slim, not so slim, tall, short. It suits everyone.
Since the dress material is light , it needs lining to strengthen the stitching. It is exported to U.K, Germany and U.S.A. .according to trade circles, one piece dresses are the prefered choice. Hence 2.5 to 4 meters cloth is sold exclusively. The duppattas or veils also find favour with the west to use as a long scarf on polo necks and heavy tops.
As for sarees they are mostly plain with exquisite borders. Many of them have reversible borders and can be worn either side. As for the designs on the fabric, it has remained rather same with very few changes here and there.The motifs on the body of the fabric is mostly the carvings designs on the forts of that area. Jasmine in particular seems to be the favourite flower. Dyeing of the yarn is done mostly by using vegetable dyes.
This fabric is delicate and hence here in India firsts wash should be done by the dry cleaners is recommended and then of course as you might guess by hand wasH using a soft soap.
Colour combos are subtle yet eye catching. Not very pale or one merging into another. It looks trendy and sophisticated. Hence youngsters and those who go for official parties and such other outings prefer this .
paired with silver jewellery it makes one look chic and suave.
If members are interested, and request, an exquisite study of different silks and their specialities can be done.
It is interesting to see the different directions a single topic can take!
So aptly summed up @arakalic, thanks for all that information. One more thing I would like to add about Maheshwari weaves is their distinct border the wavy line borders are a typical style of them.
hello @vidya veeresh , this is a very interesting story. We do not get to hear a lot about Indian women from history. For those of us in the western world, India is about two things- tasty food and Bollywood!! Thanks for sharing this.
I have a suggestion- maybe QV Woman can do a story-series on women from Indian history?? And then may be from around the world??