Once adored by the Sultans and Nawabs, Jamdani, the descendant of ancient fine muslin cloth, still remains the pride of Dhaka. Yet, with all its fame and glorious journey through centuries, the splendid cloth faces a few stumbling blocks that threaten its existence. Historically, the area around Dhaka and Narayanganj has always been the hub of handlooms. The surrounding area grew the finest quality cotton, Karpash, the key ingredient for weaving Jamdani.Besides, the aesthetic senses of the royal patrons helped Jamdani weavers make the embroidered fabrics with eye-catching design. Still the villages in Rupganj, Araihazar, Sonargaon, Shiddhirganj and other places around the Shitalakhya remain the main Jamdani-making belt. Weavers in many other places in the country and in West Bengal tried to make Jamdani, but what they made were not comparable to that made by the weavers of Dhaka. “It is the exceptional weaving technique…the embellishment of splendid loom-embroidered motifs makes Jamdani so exquisite,” said Ruby Ghuznavi, managing director, Aranya Craft Ltd, who is doing research on traditional fabrics. “It is said that the silted waters of the Shitalakhya river gives the air a unique dampness and a perfect temperature early in the morning, giving a certain quality to the yarn. In the olden days, the artisans worked on the loom only around daybreak,” she added. Jamdani is hand-woven in old-fashioned bamboo looms set up in a shallow trench. One specialty of Jamdani loom is that it does not make any sound while weaving. Artisans use a throw shuttle locally known as maku to weave the intricate fabric. With the choreography of a nifty hand the throw shuttle goes from one end to the other, interweaving the threads, creating and recreating the motifs with precision.In the beginning it was produced only in whites, later with black, grey and straight golden line borders. Colours appeared in the 19th century, Ruby said.“A very remarkable feature of Jamdani is the designs are never sketched or outlined. Jamdani designs are made while the fabric is still on the loom, inserted by hand during the process of weaving, producing the effect of embroidery,” she explained. Another important character of Jamdani sari is the motifs, mostly floral, are of geometric shape, and the sari is embossed with the design often in a diagonal form. Traditional variety of motifs include 'Butidaar' in which a spray of small floral patterns ornate the sari. When the floral patterns diagonally spread all over the fabric it is called 'Tercha'. Ornamentation with a network of floral motifs is called 'Jhalar or Jaal' as it spreads like a net. Then there is Phulwar and the one with large flower called the 'Toradar.' Most prized among all motifs is the 'Panna Bazar' or the 'Thousand Emeralds'. Artisans later used names such as Corolla Buti, Dhaner Sheesh, Bansh Phool, Puna Phool, Bagher Pa, Ichadar and many more. “These motifs are basically the weavers' insight of the nature, the simple things of everyday life,” Ruby said. “Another unique feature of the motif is that there are no human or animal figures in Jamdani. This is probably because it was always worn by Muslim royalties and woven by Muslim weavers,” she added. Neatly cut yarn from the finest quality Karpash is the key element to weave a perfect piece of Jamdani. In the olden days only young women below the age of 18 used to cut the yarn with their soft fingers. The most appropriate time for making the yarn is early morning as the air then carried the highest moisture. The wonder cotton Karpash is long gone. Today the weavers buy yarn from the market and use chemical dyes instead of herbal dyes. And they have also surrogated cotton with silk that completely changed the nature of Jamdani. Today the market is abundant with the gleaming version of half silk Jamdani. After a glorious journey through centuries Jamdani craftsmanship is considered an endangered trait. Experts' doubt how long the glory would last as the product is losing its originality. The magic fabric exists through many modifications.“Jamdani is losing classical patterns due to intervention of modern designers. They are experimenting with the fabric and its motifs these days changing the originality and weavers are just following orders because they have to survive,” said Shahid H Shamim, director, Prabartana, who works on Jamdani and other fabrics. Shamim said one of the main problems with Jamdani is that it cannot be produced cheap as the intricate process of weaving requires a very long time. Price of yarn and colour is always on the rise. The high price of Jamdani discourages many consumers. Besides, after being transformed into half-silk product, it has become very tough to maintain today's Jamdani. Half silk disintegrates easily, washing becomes difficult and at the same time use of silk makes the product even costlier. “When you change the basics then it is no longer a Jamdani. Jamdani had always been cotton based,” Shamim said. The main Jamdani-making belt is now threatened as the river Shitalakhya is encroached and the riverbank is congested with factories and mills. The water, which changed its course over the years for encroachment and many other reasons, is polluted. The area no longer produces the fine Karpash cotton, the wonder behind the magnificent fabric. The survival of Jamdani artisans has become difficult with many inconveniences in their life, which is another reason why Jamdani faces the risk of extinction, Shamim said.Although many non-government organisations, designers and fashion houses are patronising the industry, the artisans still struggle to survive. A good piece of Jamdani sari needs the sweat and labour of around two months but the weavers are often deprived of fare wages and their share of profit as they do not have direct access to market. The marketing system is still controlled by the middlemen, who often form informal cartels. Many artisans are now switching to other occupations for better life. Weavers no longer want their next generation to get involved in the profession that was once so proudly nurtured by their forefathers.According to a survey by Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), now there are only around 5,500 artisans in the Jamdani villages, where once the entire community was associated with Jamdani craftsmanship. “The most gruesome part of this industry is that the loom owners are now using child labour to curtail the cost,” Shamim pointed out. “It is posing a threat to the age-old traditional industry as these children do not belong to original Jamdani artisan family. They come from many surrounding districts,” he added. He alleged that these children have to work as bonded labour for 10 to 12 hours a day. For them it is just another job that helps them survive. “A child from original Jamdani makers' family on the other hand inherits the heritage and has the skill and creativity in their blood,” Shamim noted.
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