Bangladesh’s Jamdani sarees are gaining popularity among the fashion-loving Indian women though they have rich tradition in the fashion world, market operator’s said.Bangladesh is exporting fine quality Jamdani sarees to a number of countries including India, Italy, USA, Canada and the Middle Eastern countries. Jamdani is one of the finest muslin textiles of Bengal, produced in Dhaka District, Bangladesh for centuries.The historic production of jamdani was patronized by imperial warrants of the Mughal emperors. Under British colonialism,the Bengali jamdani and muslin industries rapidly declined due to colonial import policies favoring industrially manufactured textiles. In more recent years, the production of jamdani has witnessed a revival in Bangladesh.

1. MD.AZMERI LATIF BEG
M. Sc in Textile Engineering
Department of Textile Engineering,DIU

3.  Introduction of Jamdani Saree.
 History of Jamdani Saree.
 Weaving of Jamdani Saree Color Motif.
 Origin of Dhakai Saree Closer view of motif
 Jamdani Sari - Bangladesh's Finest Textiles.
 Manufacturing Area in Bangladesh.
 Market of Jamdani in Bangladesh.
 Where to buy cheap Jamdani Saree in Dhaka.
 Present Situation of Jamdani in Bangladesh.
 Exporting of Jamdani.
 Current problem and future scope of Jamdani in Bangladesh.
 Reference.

4.  “Jamdani Saree” is a product of hand-loom and made up of generally cotton. The
concept of Jamdani saree is mainly came from the idea of Muslin, another super
thin and soft fabric of Bangladesh. There are some kinds of Jamdani like
figured or flowered Jamdani and fabricated Jamdani. But whatever may be the
kind Jamdani is undoubtedly the best cotton weaved hand loom saree or product
in Bangladesh. The word Jamdani is of Persian origin, deriving from „Jam‟,
meaning flower, and „Dani‟, a vase or a container.

6. Jamdani Saree is very favorite to a woman
among the large varieties of Saree
produced in Bangladesh. The word Jamdani
is derived from Persia, where ‘Jam’ means
flower and ‘Dani’ means a vase or a
container. Jamdani is world famous for it’s
eye catching artistic and expensive
ornamental fabric. It’s made of high quality
cotton muslin of Bengali origin, with colored
stripes and patterns.

7. History of Jamdani Saree
 Jamdani which is one of the finest muslin textiles is mainly originated
from Bangladesh. The people of Bangladesh are making Jamdani for
centuries. It is one of the most time and labor-intensive forms of
weaving hand loom weaving.
 Under British colonialism, the Bengali Jamdani and muslin industries
rapidly declined due to colonial import policies favoring industrially
manufactured textiles. In more recent years, the production of
Jamdani has witnessed a revival in Bangladesh. The traditional art of
weaving Jamdani has been declared by UNESCO as an Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

8.  Jamdani is a woven fabric mainly produced from cotton. Certainly it is one of the most
beautiful varieties of the finest muslin. It has been spoken of as the most artistic textile
of the Bangladeshi weaver. Traditionally it is woven around Dhaka, Bangladesh. Jamdani is
fabulously rich in motifs.
 In Bangladesh, weavers use fine Egyptian cotton, but the Indian weavers use only
indigenous raw material. The single warp is usually ornamented with two extra weft
followed by ground weft. The Dhakai Jamdani is woven painstakingly by hand on the old
fashioned Jala loom, and many take even up to one year to weave a single sari. It feels
supple to the touch and drapes gently to reveal the contours of the wearer.

9. Design
The method of weaving resembles tapestry work in
which small shuttles of coloured, gold or silver threads,
are passed through the weft. The jamdani dexterously
combines intricate surface designs with delicate floral
sprays. When the surface is covered with superb
diagonally striped floral sprays, the sari is called
terchha. The anchal (the portion that goes over and
beyond the shoulder) is often decorated with dangling,
tassel like corner motifs, known as jhalar.

10. The most coveted design is known as the panna hazaar (literally: a thousand
emeralds) in which the floral pattern is highlighted with flowers interlaced like
jewels by means of gold and silver thread. The kalka (paisley), whose origin may
be traced to the painted manuscripts of the Mughal period, has emerged as a
highly popular pattern. Yet another popular pattern in jamdani is the phulwar,
usually worked on pure black, blue black, grey or off-white background colours.
color
The traditional nilambari, dyed with indigo, or designs such as toradar (literally: a
bunch or bouquet) preserved in weaving families over generations are now being
reproduced. Other jamdani patterns are known as phulwar, usually worked on pure
black, blue black, grey or off-white background colours.
Weave
For traditional jamdani weaving, a very elementary pit loom is used and the work is
carried on by the weaver and his apprentice. The latter works under instruction for
each pick, weaving his needle made from, buffalo horn or tamarind wood to
embroider the floral sequence. With a remarkable deftness, the weft yarn is woven
into the warp in the background colour from one weaver to the other
The butis (motifs) across the warp, the paar (border) and anchal (the portion that
goes over and beyond the shoulder) are woven by using separate bobbins of yarn for
each colour. The fine bobbins are made from tamarind wood or bamboo. After
completion the cloth is washed and starched.

11.  Colors: The original Bangladeshi sari is almost invariably on a
beige background, but new designs are more adventurous. The
gossamer thin black Jamdani with its splash of multi colored
linear or floral motifs sprinkled generously all over the body and
border and crowned with an exquisitely designed elaborate pallu
is a feast for the eyes.
 Jamdani is a fine muslin cloth on which decorative motifs are
woven on the loom, typically in grey and white. Often a mixture
of cotton and gold thread were/was used.
 Motif: In Jamdani saree motif is mainly used in its borders,
body and pallav. Great skill is required for motif purpose. First
the motif is drawn on graph paper, the size of the motif varies
depending on the count, if the count is fine, the design on the
graph paper is big, and if the count is coarse the design is small.
Only new motifs are drawn on the graph paper. Traditional
motifs are executed from memory.

12. Origin of Dhakai Saree
 The name Dhakai comes from the Dhaka city of Bangladesh. The weaving technique is
inhibited from from Bangladeshi weavers, but the design and motifs have the
influence of Persian designs. Jam- means flowers and dani means vases. Due to its
appeal, this technique of weaving is widely explored by weavers of West Bengal, as
the result of this, now we can see many varieties of Dhakai Jamdani Sarees.
Motifs and designs in Dhakai Jamdani sarees
 Jamdani sarees have floral motifs in Geometrical shapes. Here you can see the red
floral motifs woven on white dhakai jamdani saree

13. Closer view of motif
The special technique of interlacing the threads is used in weaving motifs
of Jamdani sarees. Though Jamdani sarees were weaved using cottons,
in the Mughal era, weavers started using zari to weave the Dhakai
Jamdani sarees.Here is a saree with Zari weaving. To meet the current
fashion trends, jamdani weavers are using new designs and innovation.
This effort of the weavers is making the Jamdani saree, a designer
saree that every saree loving woman wants to have in her saree
collection.

15. Varieties of Jamdani Work
Mainly Jamdani work used for
sarees, scarves and
handkerchiefs. The types of
Jamdani sarees are Daccai
Jamdani, Tangail Jamdani,
Shantipur Jamdani, Dhaniakhali
Jamdani.

16. Jamdani Sari - Bangladesh's Finest Textiles
 A worker coloring twists of Jamdani sari. Jamdani is the finest Muslin textile
produced in Dhaka District. It is a time consuming and labor-intensive form of
hand loom weaving, thus, UNESCO declared it as an 'intangible national cultural
heritage of humanity'. Nowapara (near Dhaka) is a big village of Jamdani, where
people are busy with Jamdani market every Thursday.
Manufacturing Area in Bangladesh
 In Bangladesh Jamdani is mainly weaved in Narayangonj near Dhaka.In
Sonargaon in Narayanganj there is also one market where the jamdani is sold in
the very early morning.On that market in Sonargaon the weavers gather in the
very early morning and sell jamdani saree in a very low price.Though,they sell a
large number of jamdani saree over there but still the price they get is very low
in comparison to their hard labor.
 But this jamdani saree price gets very high when it is displayed in a showroom in
the market.There is a renowned place where you will get a lot of jamdani
collection in the city of Dhaka.

17. Jamdani brings new life to villagers in Iswardi
Nearly 5 hundred families of Muhammadpur and Purbo Tangri
villages of the upazilla are currently engaged with the cottage
industries of Jamdani saree and Karuchupi Shilpo (decoration of
sarees), say the industry insiders.
The weavers of Jamdani indutsty include mainly the rural women
who by their fine hand skills stitch the cloth to make sarees of
luxury decoration. Hand-stitching is the main feature of Jamdani
saree.
This kind of luxury sarees are highly sought after by the Bangalee
women who usually wear different festivals like wedding, Eid and
Puja.
Although the women of these villages are increasingly getting
involved with this industry, there were very few number of women
engaged in weaving Jamdani saree here.

19. Market of Jamdani in Bangladesh
 Jamdani saree is available in Bangladeshi renowned fashion house showroom.
There is a renowned place where you will get a lot of jamdani collection in the
city of Dhaka. Hokers Markets near Dhaka new market is a nice place to buy
jamdani saree because there is a huge collection and the price are also
reasonable.
 Another market is Benarosi Polli in Mirpur, Dhaka; here also a lot of Jamdani
saree is available.
Mirpur Benarasi palli

20. Where to buy cheap Jamdani Saree in Dhaka
 The best place to buy Jamdani Saree in a very low rate is to buy Jamdani saree
from the markets of Naryanganj. In Naryanganj Rupashi and Kazipara are very
famous for Jamdani production and weaving.These jamdani sarees are displayed
in a market which is called Jamdani Market.
This market starts very early in the morning. Something like 4 am-5 am the
market starts and the sarees are sold in a very cheap rate.The whole sellers buy
the Jamdani saree from those markets and sell those in the show rooms in
Dhaka.
 The fashion houses have the good collection of Jamdani but the price is
unnecessarily high. So, who want to buy jamdani saree from occasion this is not
the best or good option.
If one want to buy Jamdani Saree in a cheap rate then just go to the Hokers
market near new market in Dhaka.We will get a huge collection of Jamdani.
Though they will ask you for a high rate but we can bargain. We will get a large
scale of Jamdani saree collection in Hokers Market. We will get the lowest price
from 1100 tk to 10000tk and more.
So, if we want to buy Jamdani in a cheap rate and want to see large collection
then go to Hokers Market.

21. Present Situation of Jamdani in Bangladesh
 For being low salary many weavers do not want their
children to come to this profession. For many, the
garments industry offers a lucrative alternative. But,
the government and other organizations are trying to
revive the old glory of Dhakai Jamdani. A Jamdani Palli
has been established near Dhaka. Jamdani, one of the
oldest forms of cottage industry in Bangladesh, was once
was a dying trade. Organizations like Radiant Institute
of Design, Shanto Mariam University of creative
technology,National Institute of Design (NID) and others
are helping designers create new Jamdani designs.
 Jamdani has never gone out of style. Even today,
Jamdani is equally valued It has and it always will
symbolize aristocracy. The demand for quality Jamdani
Sarees have increased exponentially over the years.

22. Exporting of Jamdani
Bangladesh‟s Jamdani sarees are gaining popularity among the
fashion-loving Indian women though they have rich tradition in the
fashion world, market operator‟s said.Bangladesh is exporting fine
quality Jamdani sarees to a number of countries including India,
Italy, USA, Canada and the Middle Eastern countries. Of them, 80
percent goes to India alone. Bangladesh‟s export of Jamdani sarees
to India was $6.12 million in 2010-11 fiscal year (FY) against its
export worth $1.49 million in FY 2008-09, according to data of the
Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). The country has exported Jamdani
sarees worth $5.21 million during the first ten months of the FY‟12
to India, the EPB data showed.The total export of Jamdani sarees
was $4.84m in FY09, $6.0 million in FY‟10 and in FY‟11 it was $10.41
million. The first ten months‟ export of the product is $9.80 million.
Export of Jamdani sarees to India has increased more than four
times during the last three years, they added.

23. Current problem and future scope of
Jamdani in Bangladesh
 According to a national daily, a senior taanti or “ostad” earns about Tk
2,500 to Tk 3,000 per month. Junior weavers get much less, around Tk
1,600. As a result many weavers do not want their children to come to
this profession. For many, the garments industry offers a lucrative
alternative. So, this point to be noticed to be with Jamdani in future
long time. Without we have to also keep an eye over raw materials
collection. Because of weak backward linkage we are going to be in back
lined day by day.
 If we can overcome all problems related Jamdani then we can expect
that it can be one of our great export products from Bangladesh.