Durga Puja is nearing. Puja Pandals shall be soon filling the landscape of Delhi, Kolkata and key cities and Puja shopping and revelry is the most eagerly awaited thing on the cards.
Sari-shopping spree is one of the key highlights of Durga Puja every year. One of the most favoured and primary choice for festival wear in Bengalis is the handloom-woven Tant Saree.
bengali tant saree
A traditional Indian saree worn by most Bengali women, the bengali tant saree comes in a wide variety – the Shantipuri, Jamdani, Dhaniakhali, Dhakai, Tangail, Tasar, Garad, even the Matka and Gheecha. The light-weight Tant Saree is crafted by the weavers that are spread all over West Bengal particularly at Nadia, Murshidabad, Hooghly and Dhaka and Tangail of Bangladesh.
Tant Saree designs are economically priced and don’t burn a hole in your pocket. It is the low cost factor and the comfort of cotton that makes the Tant Saree apt for daily wear as well as festival occasions.
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Tantonomics – The History Of Tant
The Jamdani Tant was famous during the Mughal era. As it so happened the British Government made an attempt to minimise its production in a bid to save the textile industry.
Once the British rule ended, the weavers decided to relocate themselves to Bangladesh while some of them stayed back in West Bengal after getting the required help from the Government. Ever since the weaver community is making non-stop consistent efforts to nurture the tradition of Tant.
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The Making Of Tant
The process adopted by the expert craftsmen in weaving Tant is worth every thread. The borders of the Cotton Designer Tant Saree are woven a little thick, which minimises its wear and tear. Interestingly, a Tant Saree is 6 meter long as against 5.5 meter which is the conventional length of a saree.
Earlier, handlooms were used to make bengali tant saree but now power looms are being pressed into action.
The Fan-Following Of The Cotton Designer Tant Saree
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Tant is making its presence felt loud and clear through its thick borders and pastel colours. As for the motifs, florals and paisleys are the ruling patterns in a bengali tant saree.
Among the new lot, hand-painted and embroidered motifs are also making an impression on the discerning lover of Tant Saree designs, who is being bombarded by the current crop of net and georgette sarees.
It is no surprise that Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal is an avid admirer of the Tant Sarees. She is quite a regular in wearing Tant Sarees purchased from Dhaniakhali.
Bollywood actresses, particularly Bengali stars, can’t hold back their love for the latest saree designs in Tant, especially in Durga Puja. Bipasha Basu was seen sporting a Tant cotton saree in her movie ‘Shob Charitro Kalponik’. Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Konkona Sen Sharma have been quite open about their love for Tant sarees. As for the legacy of Tant, how can we forget the Bengali beauty Soha Ali Khan inheriting her love for Tant sarees from her gorgeous mother Sharmila Tagore?
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Care And Maintenance of Tant Sarees
Good things don’t just need to be kept in the wardrobes but maintained well. While washing a Tant Saree for the first time, it is important to soak it in warm water with few teaspoons of rock salt in it. This minimises the colour bleeding of the saree in the subsequent washes.
