The soul of a sari

From embellishing the sari to serving a variety of functional purposes, the pallu poses the ultimate challenge to the weaver's creativity, writes SUDHA UMASHANKER after visiting an exhibition sale of saris currently on at Shilpi in Chennai.

VARIOUSLY described as the pallu, the mundhi, the aanchal, the pedre (Marathi), the sharag (Kannada), this outer end piece of the saree, is clearly its most decorative feature on the strength of which its saleability and appeal are largely determined. Any prospective buyer will not wrap up a sale without taking a look at the pallu. Such is its pull and weight.

The importance of the pallu can be gauged from the fact that while the outer end piece is heavily patterned, the inner end piece has only a couple of bands for face value.

For the craftsperson, the pallu is the ultimate challenge because of the skill it demands in terms of creativity, the mathematical precision and the disciplined geometrics involved in the layout, the patterning and the finely calculated colour harmonies. Drawing inspiration from nature, flora and fauna, the birds, the trees, the flowers, fruits, animals, temple architecture and freizes and what-have-you, the weaver gives free rein to his imagination while designing the pallu. The slightest defect and he could run the risk of losing his wages.

To Arundhati Menon, who along with Bamini Narayanan, runs Shilpi, a boutique in Chennai, and has currently organised an exhibition sale of sarees with pallus that run the gamut from the simplest to the most ornate, "it is the pallu that tells you where the product comes from and is what gives it its character. Certain things are typical of a particular place."

Much depends, however, on the way the saree is draped. Pleating the saree and pinning it the shoulder does gross injustice to the pallu. If wrapped round the back and held near the waist, the pallu can be shown off with grace, elan and style. The Gujarati style of draping the saree and the Coorgi style wearing the pallu across the chest/ bust and over one shoulder and other little known styles in Bihar and Bengal also do much for the pallu.

Conversely, design too dictates draping style, evident from writer Eva Rakob's observations on a Baluchar pallu which follows a certain principle of patterning. "The motifs here are arranged in a manner that necessitates it to be draped horizontally the way the Gujarati sarees are draped. In other types of sarees produced and worn in Bengal, pallus are placed vertically and that is probably why the pallus of most Bengali sarees are generally simple, with just the occasional floral or geometric design," he said.

Apart from embellishing the saree, at another level, the pallu is very functional. It serves a variety of purposes from being useful to drape round the head when cold, or receiving flowers from the temple priest, to help remember something by knotting one corner, or for children to tug at when they want to draw the attention of their mother. The commonest image the pallu evokes is that of a housewife pulling it over her head while in prayer or in the presence of elders, or mopping the sweat of her brow or holding or removing something hot from the fire, or even wiping her hands after a wash.

The length of the pallu, feels Arundhati Menon, "should traditionally be one metre though sometimes it could be one and a half metres and start half way on the front."

It is difficult to imagine a saree without an end piece. But believe it or not, the Kanya Pindha saree, which is a white cotton saree dyed in haldi or turmeric yellow and is worn by brides in Bihar, is one such (neither does it have a border). Some plain tussars, with no end piece, are among the few sarees minus the pallu. Traditionally, borders and pallus of some sarees from Karnataka were always in red, but nowadays other colours are used. And then there were sarees with double pallus with the idea of balancing wear and tear. Though our country can boast of a mind boggling variety of sarees and pallus, a few are worth mention.

In the Kanchipuram silk saree, the pallu may be simple, carrying over the border colour and design with lines and rekhus (motif of a temple spire in serrated lines) or elaborate with birds or animals eg., swans, parrots, peacocks, elephants or creeper-like patterns, the rudraksh (prayer beads) figuring on it.

The solid mundhi pallu matching with the borders of the Kanchipuram saree was traditionally created by cutting the warp thread and adding another warp by twisting the new set of warp threads with the original warp of the body. The main body warp and pallu are then woven together with the weft of the pallu thread for 1.5 to 2 inches by cutting the body warp. The process is known as "petni" and is used for weaving traditional sarees in cotton and silk.

The Paithani saree pallu is yet another work of art.

Paithani is one of the oldest cities of the Deccan located on the north bank of the Godavari. The outstanding characteristic of this saree is the tapestry weave. Writing on the Paithani technique, Jasleen Dhamija notes, "in the pallu and the border, the gold was woven as a solid tissue background and woven patterns were inlaid in brilliant coloured silk threads using the double interlock technique."

In contrast, the Bomokoi saree, a traditional figured saree, so named after the village in Southern Orissa where it is still woven for local women, is an ethnic Orissan saree without ikat work. Woven in heavy and coarse cotton, these sarees are stunning for their use of colours. Through a special technique by which the field warp threads are cut and re-tied to different coloured warps for the end piece, a densely threaded and colourful pallu which stands out in relief and looks like fine embroidery, is created.

Gadwal sarees from Andhra Pradesh usually with a cotton body (sometimes checked), with a silk border and pallu, are regarded as prayer sarees by local women who wear them for special religious or festive occasions. Richly brocaded with a contrast pallu and border carrying distinctive patterns influenced by traditions of stone and wood carving of the area (temple motifs, the hamsa - the mythical swan - the yaali or the stylised lion, the double headed eagle were other important figural motifs on the pallu), these sarees have an elegance of their own. The dressy Uppada saree pallus from Srikakulam in the Southern district of Andhra Pradesh complement the collection.

From simple end pieces in the old Shantipuri sarees (Bengal cotton sarees as we commonly know them), in which the pallu consists of a dominant central band with finer bands on either sides), to pallus with detailed and intricate extra patterning in which the end piece provides a grand finale to the saree with the use of motifs like vines, creepers, flowers and fish creating a densely woven effect, they are all on display.

The Tangail saree of West Bengal, which has been greatly influenced by the Dhaka Jamdhani characterised by the shadow effect, is probably its poor cousin and a very simplified version of the original. The Tangail imitates the extra weft loom embroidery of the original in the body and the end piece.

These and other Orissan silk sarees with a combination of architectural, religious and geometric even tantric motifs on the pallu, and a range of printed sarees sporting the label of Kanishka with motifs or religious significance like Lakshmi's feet, the Trishul of Lord Shiva and the Om are other interesting sarees that can be viewed at Shilpi. There is enough and more to tuck in.

One could spin endless yarns about saree pallus, the Armor and Ashavali saree pallus, the Patola saree pallus, the Kodalikarupur saree pallus, each distinct from the other. So the next time you pause to contemplate over buying a saree, spare a thought for the hands that wrought magic and the mind that visualised the saree on someone even before it hit the shelves. That is the best tribute you can possibly pay to the weaver who crafted it and the rich and glorious textile tradition that we have inherited, next to framing the pallu and putting it up on one of your walls.

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