HUES OF ROYALTY

PAITHANI SARIS DAZZLE WITH THEIR COLOURS, BUT THEIR FUTURE IS UNDER THREAT

- EISHA GUPTA

IN 1989, A YOUNG BALKRISHNA Kapse was hired to work at a Paithani sari shop in Yeola, Maharashtra. While learning the ropes of buying and selling handwoven sarees, Kapse felt a passion arise inside him to preserve the age-old craft and improve the living conditions of the artisans, most of whom lacked even basic facilities like housing and toilets. Twelve years later, Kapse decided to leave the job to set up his own company. Naming it Kapse Paithani, his company started to produce high-quality Paithani sarees while simultaneously changing the lives of the artisans who made it. Today, a pool of 2,500 artisans from nearly 28 villages in Maharashtra are involved in the various stages of producing Paithani sarees, out of which 200 to 300 hearing and speech impaired craftspeople have developed exceptional skills.

A LABORIOUS PROCESS

The name Paithani comes from the royal dynasty that lived in Paithan town in Aurangabad district, where the sari was first made by hand. The tradition is at least 2,200 years old and its legacy can be traced back to the 2nd century BCE.

Making these beautiful saris is a timeconsuming process: first, artisans collect the silk threads, known as zari, and dye them in vibrant colours like neelgunji (blue),