Silk-blended Jamdani sarees: The luxurious fusion transforming Bengal’s textile tradition

One noticeable, sometimes unnoticed detail of the Jamdani saree is the floran patterns weaved onto it, and one noticeable and naive thing about any saree you search on Facebook – the world’s best addictive social media platform, you automatically get a variety of them into your newsfeed, sold by different owners at different prices -the price and the item sold is the catch, but not quite like a Jamdani. Coke Studio Bangla released ‘Tati’, and in the music video, Oli Boy raps the line ‘Shout out to Jamdani.’ If you are a bit discreet, you can immediately recognise the sarees sold by an owner at a higher price than its typical range of sales – Silk Jamdani is that kind of product. However, one thing sets it aside from other variants of sarees. It is a rare product that only serious saree enthusiasts collect and wear or style, although the history of Bengal says otherwise about Jamdanis.

Though a reminder of Bengal’s illustrious past of rich textile supplies, the Jamdani saree became a premium cultural substance with time. Dhakai Jamdani represents Dhaka, formerly known as Dacca and received the term Dhakai Jamdani for locally produced Jamdani Sarees. 

Eventually, as language has a flow, the term became Dhakaiaa Jamdani in many places. The fabric used to be a variant of Muslin textile and weaving until it received acceptance from buyers and wearers as its kind of fabric. A product known to reign in the region for thousands of years or so is still a premium item as it is not found in a regular Bangalee woman’s closet, weirdly enough. However, pure Muslin is a museum archive now, no matter how much we see Muslin clothes in the market. Although it started its footsteps as Jamdani Muslin and an aristocratic fashion item, it still has yet to lose a bit of its glare. In contrast, thanks to Facebook, the fame and story of uniqueness spread nationwide.

Muslin is in the museum, but Jamdani kept its namesake intact, although with a fabric that is different and more widely used now than Muslin, Silk. The Silk-blended Jamdani has caught the heart and attention of the Bangalee saree devotee who purchases that rich, soft and smooth Muslin-feel-alike Jamdani, although woven with Silk and Cotton, the same floral weaving. The factor that matters here is the glossiness and charm of those Silk and Cotton blended Jamdani sarees.

Bangladesh’s record of producing original Silk needs to be revised to keep up with the demand for Silk throughout the country. Bengal has always been a melting pot of age-old traditions and newfound culture brought by the foreign rulers of the land. Sericulture was foreign-brought but quickly made its way into our go-to fabrics. 

To date, Cotton and Silk weaved into Jamdani looks good on the smartphone and is a native, traditional and attention-grabbing luxury fashion item. 

Another reason behind the ever-growing demand is the range of Jamdani produced. A woman devoted to sarees and Bangalee by identity dreams of buying a Silky-rich Jamdani known to be 80-count and will surely take away hearts if given attention. 

Low priced, comparatively less fabulous-looking Jamdani saree is sold at the lowest prices starting from 600 BDT. But the ones that make for the deal are the mid-range Jamdani sarees that give off the vibe “eta ki Jamdani Shari?” (Is this a Jamdani saree?)

Rupganj is famous for being a Jamdani-producing Upazilla. It is situated on the bank of the Shitalakshya River, which played a substantial role in the thread-weaving process in Bengal. In Bangladesh’s hot, humid weather, wearing a Jamdani is tasteful and comfortable.