Where can i buy real silk in Varanasi

Marky

Im currently in Varanasi and wanting to buy my girlfriend a silk Sari, if your reading this Belinda, i'm trying to make sure I get advice to find the best :-)

I've been to a couple of stores on the Goudolia today and tried the burning test: One material burned and when I rubbed the burnt ember between my fingers it turned to dust and smelt rank. The other, I presume is the fake, because it burned but formed a small solid black ball which I had to crack with my finger nails: This is fake right?

As well as hoping for advice on a shop to visit could you also hint at a good price? My hostel manager thinks 250Rs to 400Rs at the very max. Do you agree with this?

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Mark

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Nick-H

You can buy real silk from any half-decent sari shop, and you should not have to set light to it to find out!

Do you see local people shopping with matches?

250 to 400 Rs might get you a nice cotton sari.

You want to take home something special in silk? think thousands; not hundreds.

Buy at a fixed price shop. No need to worry about bargaining or if you're being sold rubbish that a local person would not buy.

Buy something that, to you, looks superb. Just imagine telling her how fantastic she looks! If it passes that test, it doesn't really matter if it costs Rs10 or Rs10,000

There are many different regional varieties, both in design and texture. Benares silk, for instance, is soft and flowing, Kanchipuram is much heavier and thicker (right... that's my knowledge exhausted ). As well as the traditional saris there are the Designer saris --- more likely to come from a smaller, boutique-type shop, and also very likely to break your budget!

If I was you, buying to take home for a girl-friend, I'd budget Rs3,500 upwards --- the sky's the limit, people pay tens or even hundreds of thousands for a wedding sari.

Silk is just not a cheap fabric, even in this country the raw silk is quite a lot of money per kilo.

But you can still buy the most beautiful stuff at prices that, outside India, look silly. Say you spend Rs4,500: you've probably just bought something that knocks a UK designer evening dress costing many hundreds of pounds into the ground --- for just over fifty quid!

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Nick-H

Things to look out for (just a few from the top of my head --- I am not an expert)---

Is it hand or machine embroidered? Hand embroidered will be neater and have fewer loose ends on the bag to snag. More expensive, of course!

Look at the back of the palav (the most ornamental bit that goes over the shoulder). Not too many long loose threads that will catch and snag is a good thing.

Does it include a 'blouse piece' --- this is the piece that is cut off to make the blouse from. Usually the fancier ones do; if not, you will have to choose a matching piece of material for that.

Skirt: buy a skirt of a good colour to go with the sari especially if it is a see-throughish kind of silk.

When you have chosen, have them unfold the entire sari and check it very carefuly for any faults or damage. Do not expect 100% regularity in something handmade, but do reject damage or stains, or even dust from the shop shelf. Look particularly carefuly at the folds. Silk can become brittle in storage and crack along the folds. (yes, I learnt this lesson the hard way).

For that reason it should be shaken out and re-folded every couple of months. Only sari-shop staff can fold it just as it was originally packed, but that doesn't matter as you want to prevent that stress coming always in the same place.

Someone in the shop will help you with these odds and ends: usually a 'personal shopper' attaches themselves to you when you walk in the door!

If you were in Chennai I'd say to give me a ring! I love sari shopping!

Oh... many of the larger shops will have leaflet on how to wear it; if she is not used to it, ask them if they do. If, on the other hand, you know she wants to use it as curtains or drape it over a chair, then choose accordingly --- and lower-priced!

capt_mahajan

wow, nick, impressed with your knowledge, which is light years ahead of mine.

last time i bought a sari was in Bangladesh, and I pointed to a mannequin and asked the shop to strip the sari off the thing.

For some reason, they found it hilarious.

Darmabum

I know a man in the Goudalia area who might be able to help. His name is Sunil Gupta, runs/owns a great cotton shop up Vishwanath Gali. Though his shop is cotton, stop in and see him, tell him Scottji sent you. He's currently making me some great yoga bags and larger shoulder bags. He is absolutely trustworthy/honest . . . kinda like a Boy Scout that chews paan. He has a great assistant in his shop named Arvindh who has helped me find all sorts of "authentic" pieces from among the other stuff in the maze and dazzling lights of Vishwanath Gali (the lane on your left, when heading down toward the river, that has the concrete pyramidal roof, usually lots of police standing around as it's one of the main ways to get to the Vishwanath Temple.) Sunil's address is Ganga Handlooms, D 10/18 Kohli Katra, Vishwanath Gali

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saajan_20

anybody in mumbai lookin for pure silk benarasi (varanasi) sarees can contact me

purity assured

regards
saajan

cyberhippie

Support Benares silk!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3764246.stm

robotvoice

he get's his encyclopedic knowledge from wearing so many saris

Nick-H

I seriously love sari shopping.

BTW... fake silk does exist, as does fabric which is laden with stiffener to make it seem heavier (it washes out).

There is a "Silk Mark" label, introduced last year (or thereabouts) but I don't know how widely used it is.

I do think that shopping at big stores with a good reputation should keep you on the safe side --- like Nalli or RMKV (and a few others, of course)in Chennai for instance.

RMKV, by the way, introduced a double-ended, double-sided sari recently. That's four different colour combinations instead of the usual one. I heard it starts at Rs50,000.
You should see my collection of vestis and kurtas. Especially my Kerala vestis, which come in more interesting colours than the Tamil Nadu ones.

robotvoice

it's a nice top you are wearing in your profile pic.

Nick-H

The material came from Nalli Silk, Chennai*. ISTR that it was expensive, maybe Rs300 a metre, so including tailoring it would have cost about Rs1,000.

*Now, to bill them for that plug...

Marky

Thatnks for the help people I ended up asking the hostel owner who was more than happy to advise on some local stores howver, I've heard about government run stores called Upica and Mahatex that are located in the Godaulia. After walking about today though I couldn't find them, don't suppose anyone can direct me from Dashaswamedh Gat?

Nick-H

Happy Shopping!

Bit like food, really: buy where its busy.

Beware the places where they have to unlock the doors and turn on the lights just for you...

edwardseco

Shopping in the old city of Hyderabad, a delightful madhouse of wonderful textiles. Then the struggle to find just the right blouse pieces and a tailor that doesn't stitch it too tight..

Suja

There are a great many varieties of silk saris. Benarasi and Kancheepuram are the really well known ones, but there are also Tussar, Chanderi, Patola, Thanchoi, Mysore,to name just a few. Each have unique qualities and styles. If you go to a big store which stocks lots of varieties (like the Nalli shop in Chennai mentioned before...I am sure there is something like that in Benaras), you can see what appeals to you.

Make sure that it is pure silk that you are buying. There are a lot of mixes available now (and I love them, much more easy to take care of) but its not silk A big shop will tell you as it is.

Don't buy a sari which feels too light. What is too light? Weigh a few and compare. The lighter saris won't 'fall' well. The heavier the sari, the more its value as raw silk is bought by the sari makers by weight. If your sari is too light, you will have to ask a tailor to stitch 'falls' for it...this is a strip of plain cloth stitched at the bottom end to add weight, and to enhance the draping qualities. Ask them to hem by hand, not to machine stitch as this may damage the sari.

The embroidery on the sari also adds to the value. A sari will at least have embroidery/weaving at the bottom end and the pallu (in Hindi) or thalappu (in Tamil), which is the bit which hangs down the back. Others have on both sides, these will cost more as there is more work to it. Then you see how much work is there in the body of the sari...and how complicated it is.

The patterns may of 'pure' zari (silk thread wound around with silver thread and then dipped in gold), 'false' zari (Dont buy this..discolours in a few years), or silk threads of different colours. The border may be a 'self-border' ie. in the same colour as the body of the sari or a 'contrast-border' - in both cases, the patterns may be in a gold or in third colour. You can also get silks with sequins, bead-work etc but that complicates matters...

Check if there is a blouse piece attached. If not, ask to be shown matching material. Pure silk blouses don't wear well..as they are tight, it shows wear and tear near the underarms very soon. I recommend buying silk-cotton mix for this if the sari doesn't come with a blouse piece. Or if buying a silk one, go for a sleeveless style. Whether silk or silk cotton, ask the tailor to stitch a lining (cotton doesn't need a lining). Tell him at least 20 times 'blouse LOOSE chahiye', and add a couple of more times as a bonus and he will still stitch it too tight. So tell him from the start to give two stitching lines at the sides, arms, and underarms so that it can be loosened very easily. Anybody used to t-shirts will find the 'standard' blouse unbearablly tight.

'Petticoats' are the skirts worn under the sari. If the sari is not transparent, choosing the exact right colour doesnt matter so much. Otherwise, drape one layer of the sari on top of the petticoat and compare the colour of the part over the petticoat and the part outside. There should not be an appreciable difference. If in doubt, go for a little darker than a little lighter. By the way, if the sari needs a fall, its colour should be the same as the petticoat's colour.

Hope this helps you with your shopping