Unique ‘Amdavadi’ sarees happened to textile city some 500 years back

An exclusive trousseau of a bride in the city is never considered ‘complete’ until it includes the gorgeous, hand-woven ‘Amdavadi’ saree-the exquisite piece of Ahmedabad’s weaving-art heritage.

This mad adoration by the city’s womenfolk is the prime reason why this 500-year-old saree-weaving tradition of Ahmedabad is alive and kicking.

About five centuries back, this fully hand-woven saree, which is popular for its overall linear weaving pattern and its typical Bor Jal, Kanak Jal and Ghulad Vel and Kinkhab Keri designs, was first manufactured by a few weaver families residing at Gulbai Tekra.

The original Amdavadi sarees are priced between Rs.9,000 and Rs18,000. They have curved minakari floral borders which are hand woven using silk, gold or silver threads on thick silk cloth.

The prices of such garment can go as high as Rs40,000. 

“This art of preparing hand-woven sarees with a consistent linear weaving pattern that runs across all the design elements in a saree including its borders, is traced back to 500 years ago,” said Gordhan Patel, who received the India Handicraft National Award, 2003, for continuing this tradition. Patel is one of the few weavers in the city who manufactures original Amdavadi sarees. His late father Somabhai had also been similarly awarded in the same category in 1991. 

“The weavers who developed this art lived at Gulbai Tekra which was known as Asavali village in the olden days. Later, when the village merged with the city of Ahmedabad (about 500 years back), this art became the city’s identity and the art piece was named as ‘Amdavadi saree,” said Patel. During the colonial era, the weaver families were discouraged and often tortured for perpetuating this art “To escape various tortures, the weavers left their homes and moved to interior areas of the city known as ‘pols.’ The pols used to serve as residential hideouts in those days,” said Patel, whose forefathers were one of those weavers and had secretly continued to preserve this unique tradition.

In Independent India, this art flourished again and the weavers from small villages of Charada, Gojaria, Patan and Vithrol reverted back to it to earn their livelihood. .  "Making such a saree approximately takes one full month. One weaver can only make about 12 to 15 sarees annually," said Patel, who claims that continuing this tradition is not economically viable. "It is a difficult art that demands loads of meticulous efforts but fetches poor returns," he rued.

The art is today preserved by a few families living in Vithrol, a small village near Gandhinagar. That it is still alive is perhaps due to the deep-rooted adoration in hearts of the city's women who understand and appreciate the nuances of this exclusive art.