Charcoal Grey Tussar Ghicha Silk Saree with Pink Zari Pallu – Bhagalpuri

Megha

A deep charcoal grey with a metallic lift to it, and then a broad rose-pink pallu banded across in gold zari. A fine gold line runs the selvedge on both sides.

About the weave

There is no print and no painting here. What gives the grey its depth is the ghicha itself — the yarn runs lighter and darker along its length, and dyed dark it takes on a sheen that shifts between pewter, teal and copper as the drape moves. It is the most metallic-looking cloth in this collection and none of it comes from zari.

The pink pallu is woven in rather than joined on, with groups of fine gold zari stripes crossing it. Rose against charcoal is a modern pairing — softer than pink with black, sharper than pink with beige.

What it's for

Grey is uncommon in Indian silk and it is the reason to own this one. It reads as considered rather than festive, carries an evening without any ceremony to it, and the pink stops it being severe.

Details

• Fabric: Pure handloom Ghicha Tussar silk
• Colour: Charcoal grey with rose pink and gold zari
• Body: Plain charcoal, with the natural striation and sheen of ghicha yarn
• Border: Fine gold zari, both sides
• Pallu: Rose pink banded in gold zari stripes
• Saree length: 5.5 m · Width: 1.10 m
• Blouse piece: 0.80 m, unstitched
• Package contains: 1 saree with blouse piece
• Wash care: Dry clean only

On handloom

Every metre of this saree passed through a pit loom worked by hand and foot. No motor is involved anywhere in the process — the weaver sets the pace, and the cloth carries that pace in it. Bhagalpur has been weaving silk this way for generations, and what comes off its looms does not resemble what comes off the looms at Varanasi or Chanderi. The yarn is different, the water is different, and so are the hands.

On tussar

Tussar comes from silkworms that feed in open forest rather than on cultivated mulberry. That wilder life shows in the yarn — thicker, less even, and carrying a warm honey colour of its own before any dye touches it. Weavers across eastern India have worked with it for centuries. The hand is drier and more open than mulberry silk, which is the point of tussar rather than a shortcoming.

On colour and variation

These sarees are dyed in small lots and woven one at a time, so no two are alike — and no single piece is quite uniform from end to end. You may find the shade deepening a little along the length, a heavier slub where the yarn ran thick, or an edge that wanders by a thread. None of that is damage. Screens also render colour differently, so expect some drift from what you see here.