Mashru, is an old and venerable hand woven textile craft form. The word Mashru has its origins in ancient Persian and can be roughly translated as permitted or allowed. Mashru is the most simple yet striking of Indian Fabrics. The shiny, satiny surface is woven in a combination of a pleasurable linear design imagery of waves overlapping in a tapestry of bright blossoming colors. Mashru has a specialized style of weaving developed keeping in mind the religious sentiments of its clients. Later, this unique technique dove-tailed this soft, sinewy hand woven satin within the annals of a prized fabric not only for garments but also a wide range of home furnishings.
The uniqueness of this fabric is that it has a silk warp with a cotton weft and traditional designs use a tie and dyed yarn generating a vibrant striped patterning on the fabric. Due to the satin weave technique, threads of flowing silk literally float on the cotton weft; almost akin to a preening beauteous silk lying unfurled over a bed of cotton. In a Mashru garment it is the delicacy of cotton that tantalizes the skin while the vibrancy of silk tantalizes the viewer.
Mashru uses striped linear patterns of vibrantly bright colors ranging from greens, reds and a pre-dominance of golden yellows.
Traditional Trivia
Mashru as a fabric was created to confirm to the tenets of Islam which forbade the use of silk generated out of insect cocoons as wearable material. So an elegant mix in the annals of historical weaving was contrived were it was the thread of cotton which touched the skin while the silk floated on top. This enabled the ruling Islamic nobility to flaunt and wear this wondrous garment. Mashru due to this very feature became a favored item of export to the gulf and the Ottomen Empire.
In Patan wealthy Hindu merchants and traders also took a liking to this fabric thus increasing its intrinsic value and the inclusion of certain typical motifs. The colloquil Gujarati term for this fabric was mishru meaning a blend of silk and cotton. Even today Mashru is an important part of the bridal trousseou of a variety of Hindu communities.
The Bohras of Sidhpur and Patan also favor Mashru as a fabric to design their traditional garments.
About
Wankar communities are known to be the creators of this craft form.
Raw Materials Used
- Silk and Cotton yarns
- Natural Dyes
- Chemical Dyes