Incredible Patola

પાડી પટેલે ભાત, ફાટે પણ ફાટે નહિં।  

 as per this Gujarati saying colour and design never fade rather the cloth may tear. It shows the fabulous nature of the 11th century craft of patola_ a double Ikat  woven fabrics  usually made from silk. 

Indian traditional varieties are pearls in a ocean, every pearls are unique and priceless. This only happens due to hardwork, imaginative skills, craftsmanship and unique execution of ethics weavers who see it as an art rather than a means of livelihood. It is their efforts and market  research that has enable newer varieties to come up with innovative and unique designs to keep the interest bloom in handling fabrics. In turn the weaving industries’ needs push and encouragement for the effortless growth by passing of time. 

The name Patola is derived from the Sanskrit word “pattakulla “ . Even though the Patola fabric is said to be of Gujarati origin, its earliest mention is in South India as per Narasimaha Purana  the religious text. Patola entered Gujarat via Maharashtra ‘s jalna district. The king Kumarpal of Sholanki dynasty in patan (the than capital of Gujarat)  the king open learning  that the king of Jalna used Patola as bed sheets before selling them. He bought 700 families to patan to restore it’s previous glory while the other reason may be he didn’t want to use a second hand Patola. The king saw patola in the highest regard as he believed it kept devils and bad health at bay.  He hired all the 700 families for himself just so that he could wear a new Patola daily on his temple visits That’s how the patan became the hub of a highly valued and unique craft that prosperous between 11th and 13th century. 

The Patola sarees are included as a matter of pride when Gujarat is mentioned on the handicraft map. There are essentially two varieties of Patola _ the Rajkot Patola and patan Patola. The Rajkot Patola is only vertically _resist dyed ( single ikat)  ,where patan Patola is horizontally _ resist dyed before it is used in weaving. The Patola of patan is done in the double ikat style which is the varied in the world.  Passing of time added the various innovation in the Patola fabric from different cities of Gujarat such as velvet Patola from Ahemdbad, printed Patola from Surat and cotton Patola from jamnagar. Despite  the supposed influence of Gujarat ‘s Patola there are other states who produces ikat, they are odissa _the Isfahan weaving follows curvilinear style and has a feathery look with hazy outline.  The sambalpuri is familiar for Odessa ikat.  While in Andhra Pradesh and in the south with single ikat.

It is the legendary heritage of Indian textiles from Gujarat.  A double ikat silk fabric in which both wrap as well as  weft threads are dyed into a complicated pattern it is one of the most complex textile _ weaving techniques in the world and highly priced fabric 

In, India Patola were used as ceremonial sarees chiefly by nagar Brahmins, Jain Mahajans and vora Muslims. 

The design in the Patola includes leaf forms,  flowering plants, creepers, animals and human figures. The various pattern name  of the patterns are pan Bharat, rattan choking Bhat , narikunjar Bhat,  Phylis Bhat,  chhabadi Bhat,  bohra gaji bhat, gala wali Bharat, akhrot Bhat , popat kunjar,  maharas  bhat,  vohra cheer bhat,  and Kalash bhat has the dizzyingly  mathematical process and it involves intensive manual work,  fortitude and exactitude,  natural dyes like catechu,  cochineral,  indigo,  turmeric,  natural lakkh,  harde,  madder roots, manjistha,  ratnajyot,  Katha,  kesuda,  pomegranates skin henna and marigold are used in making them. 

How ever the machine printed Patola Saree pattern are wildly spread. Due to the cheap rate and lake of knowledge in differentiation of printed and hand woven  Patola are difficult for someone who is not Patola connoisseur, few of the measurements explain how to identify a fake one.  The colour of the weaved Patola never fade,  and Saree should not weigh more than 450gms. 

An interesting fact is that currently there are only hand full of families that pursue the beautiful craft. Lengthy process and lack of knowledge makes the survival of the craft very difficult. Though, due to the person like Kanhaiyalal Salvi, a legendary Patola weaver who has taught weaving techniques to the students of Inifd Ahemdbad, surajkund Mela in Haryana ,crafts museum in Delhi, Honolulu academy of arts to promote the Patola weaving to the next generation. Many Indian designers work tirelessly to revive ancient Indian handicrafts and Patola tops the list. This elusive art form has transcribed to shawls,  scarves and dupattas to make them patatable to a wider audience. Bollywood celebrities also have jumped onto the bandwagon and have forged full force ahead to save this ancient art form.