Chanderi is best known for its saris – extremely expensive hand-woven raw silk with gold thread borders and complex patterns interspersed in the fabric. A ‘cheaper’ version is made using silk and cotton – but no less labour intensive.
Of course I was keen to see weaving and we expected to be walking around a village of weavers on our own.
Instead, our local tour company had organised a fabulous guide, Muzaffar Ansari, who took us straight to his home and announced that he was a historian who had worked for years with academics from SOAS, Brown, Michigan and other universities – he had acknowledgements in 43 PhDs. He had published his own book about Chanderi, with the help of an NGO – but unfortunately had no more copies:
We met his wife who showed me how her loom worked – she was weaving silk and cotton:
The patterns are produced on punchcards which have to be changed, depending on the design being worked on:
Muzaffar is an extraordinary entrepreneur: he takes photos of some of the patterns of the stonework on the monuments and his son, who is a designer, is able to digitise them and turn them into punchcards to produce new designs for the fabric. So for example this one:
We also met his mother who was working with a patient – she specialised in skin diseases – and his grandchildren who popped in to say hello to their grandmother.
We were given a cup of tea and snacks in the yard while we chatted:
And Muzaffar then wrote our names in the many languages he had learnt and gave us the cards. (Turns out that Miriam is the name of the mother of our driver, Ansar – so everyone was impressed.)
That was the beginning of a really wonderful day – Muzaffar is self-educated (currently finishing the first year of a degree with his son) and passionate about his village which is full of historic interest. He showed us how Chanderi was indeed stuffed with fifteenth century buildings of astonishing beauty.
This memorial was dedicated to a fifteenth-century princess whose father had her lover assassinated because he (the lover) was not from royalty. The princess killed herself when she found out so her father built the memorial for her and her lover. (See those distinctive ‘camel hump’ supports?)
The place was full of wild bee colonies protecting the two graves:
Right next to this site were a number of other memorials to women who had killed themselves when their husbands died (suttee) which we found very sad:
We visited a wonderful fifteenth-century Friday mosque, still in use today:
This amazing building has no rooms – it was built as a victory memorial in the fifteenth century.
Another astonishing sight was the gateway to the town which had been excavated from the top down (ie the stone chiselled out from the top – imagine!):
There was much, much more – but just so you know: Chanderi doesn’t even get a mention in the Rough Guide! That’s India for you – awash with centuries of history.
Chanderi. Centuries of history. Warm welcome by guide and family. Incredible weaving of sari fabrics. What a day in your lives. Wonderful to learn this. And wanting to know more.
It was indeed a really wonderful day – and we haven’t even included the visit to the royal hunting lodge on the lake with migrating birds!
Can feel the excitement radiating from the screen of my tablet, so when you install a loom?
Don’t even joke about such things ! You know M’s enthusiasms!
Spectacular. Loved reading this one!
Delighted, Lexie! It was a great day!
A particularly fascinating day filled with wonderful people it seems.
I’m still a bit stuck – though not surprised necessarily – over the fact that you refused the carriage ride in your welcome ceremony yesterday. An awful lot of work gone to waste I should think for the poor staff! But then, I tend to love over the top stuff like that.
Yes, indeed dear Kenny – I can see you sitting in the carriage looking benevolent and dignified. M and I didn’t rise to the occasion but I don’t think a great deal of staff effort and eager anticipation was actually involved – the horse and carriage seemed to be stationed at the door all day waiting for arrivals. And we walk under the welcome umbrella…
What incredible finds! Especially M Ansari – loved reading about this. I too look forward to Miriam’s loom (or at least a few yards of gorgeous ‘junk’)
He was a very enjoyable companion for the day and had a lovely laugh. I’m sorry to disappoint but there will be NO LOOM in Glenloch Road – for so many reasons that it would exhaust me to list them ( the noise of the shuttle alone could give rise to complaints from the neighbours)…
What a hidden gem you discovered – don’t tell Rough Guide! Did you buy a sari?
No saris purchased, alas. In terms of the Rough Guide, it’s simply interesting that this little town producing well known saris shouldn’t even get a line of a mention!
I’m so pleased Chanderi lived up to or exceeded expectations. It’s absolutely one of my best favourite places. I love the spaghetti buttresses (I doubt that’s the technical term). The private weaving demonstration sounds great. We went to workshop on the first floor of what looked like an abandoned mansion. Did you go to the fort? Amazing curved towers in the walls.
It was such a pleasant little town – not just the various monuments but the sense of calm and green fields. We stayed in a fairly basic hotel inside the fort but I can’t say I noticed the towers, too busy chasing off some particularly thuggish monkeys.
We’ve been chasing magpie jays off our breakfast! No hotel in the fort when we were there just an extremely basic (being generous) state guest house.
Same place ! Now state hotel ( but probably much the same).
Was unclear. Guest house was in the town somewhere
I too can easily imagine a loom arriving in Glenloch Rd. After marvelling at the height of the loom (see above), it’s good that your home has high ceilings.
Believe me, the ceilings can be lowered!