The cultural significance of Gadwal sarees in modern India

by Aarushi Reddy studant

Gadwal sarees is a handcrafted woven saree style which was invented in Gadwal of Jogulamba District. These sarees are woven in cotton weft with golden brocade patterns and further embellished designs which makes them distinctive. The colours used in these sarees are of contrasting nature, and these sarees demonstrate a blend of ethnicity and modern designs.

The technique to weave Sarees in the interlocked-weft technique known as "Kupadam". The entire saree is made of cotton while the border is made of silk. The weight of these sarees is light and can be folded into a matchbox. The golden zari work along the length of the borders gives these sarees an exquisite touch. These designs which are woven into the Gadwal sarees represent the South Indian cultural patterns.

The motifs have popular patterns such as peacock and rudraksha. Some of the other features of Gadwal sarees are as follows-

•A traditional Gadwal saree is woven in white cotton and has a coloured pallav and border. This feature gives sarees a more ethnic look.

•Another name for Gadwal sarees is Kootu, and it has a unique aspect about it that the cotton body part is combined to the silky pallav warp manually.

•A variant of Gadwal sarees is Kudapam. It has a contrasting border, and the pallav portion is weaved using three shuttle techniques. The body of a Kudapam saree is fabricated using plain or dyed silk.

The cost of a typical Gadwal saree is in the range of 10,000 to 15,000.

A dying technique which is used to pattern textiles that employ the resist dying on the yarns before dying is called Ikkat. The ikkat silk sarees are known for their blurriness, and this blurriness is due to the extreme difficulty the weaver has lining up the dyed yarns.

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