Blog : The Journey of Dhakai Jamdani Saree

Dhakai Jamdani is a fine muslin textile of Bengal and Bangladesh. Originally this saree was woven in Narayangunj district of Bangladesh near Dhaka. That is why it is also called Dhakai. The word jamdani is the combination of two words 'jam' and 'dani'. 'Jam' means flowers and 'dani' means vase. Mughal emperors were enchanted by the beauty of this saree and they patronized it.

During the reign of Mughal emperor Akbar, the art blossomed into its most exquisite form and it was also known as flowered Muslin. Islamic influences on motifs, colors and pattern of this saree have given various names of Jamdani saree Shabnam, Ab-I,Rawan, Baftnama, etc.

Earlier Jamdani is woven in the loom using both cotton and gold thread. Recently, in 2016 the traditional Bangladeshi Jamdani received geographical indication or GI tag. But following the same method and technique, jamdani is getting woven in various places of Bangladesh and West Bengal as well. Earlier the Jamdani was woven in hand only but changes have come with time. Nowadays for mass production, it is woven in loom also.

Before Jamdani was a pure fine cotton fabric. Later in some variety of jamdani silk threads were mixed with cotton thread. But, nowadays you can also get fully silk jamdani saree. Some popular designs of jamdani are butidar , tercha , jhalar , etc. On butidar jamdani small floral buti or spots are scattered all over the saree. On tercha , we find diagonally-striped floral spots and on jhalar style we see network of floral motifs.

Jamdani is quite an expensive saree which have a market all over the world. Besides sarees, nowadays jamdani fabric is used to make scarves, handkerchief, kurta, dupatta, etc. Jamdani fabrics need highly careful maintenance. One does not wear jamdani daily. As it is worn on special occasion, you do not need it to wash with soap and water frequently. Just dry clean only. Unfold and refold them 2-3 times annually.

Jamdani sarees need to breathe as this type of sarees is woven with organic material. Place them in open air twice annually and let them breathe. It will increase the longevity of the saree. But do not place them under direct sunlight. It may fade the color. Preserve your adorable jamdani saree in a plastic zippered bag to save it from dust particles.