SONEPUR: Sonepur weavers are known for their unique designs - both traditional and contemporary - on Sambalpuri Bandha (tie and dye) sarees.
A weaver of the district Iswara Meher has proved it again by weaving a saree designed with motifs of all Indian states and union territories.
The 28-year-old weaver, who is fascinated by maps, wanted to replicate the Indian map and states with unique decorative styles and patterns on a saree and approached his uncle Dolamani Meher, a handloom motif designer and tie and dye weaver, for the purpose.
While Dolamani agreed to make the graphics for the saree, Iswara began weaving it in the last week of November.
After weaving three sarees in which the patterns did not look perfect, Iswara managed to weave the fourth one with deft precision to bring out the pattern in all clarity. It took him 30 days to complete the saree.
“After a lot of trial and error, I could weave the perfect piece”, he recalled. The ‘pallu’ of the saree has India map with slogans like ‘I love my India’ and ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kishan’ and the body is decorated with maps of all states.
The young weaver is yet to find a place to exhibit his creation but he has already been approached by many who are willing to buy the saree. Iswara plans to price the saree anywhere between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000.
“I want to weave the saree in different colour combinations”, said Iswara who is also discussing a few more unique designs with his uncle Dolamani.
Sometime back, Bhagabata Meher, another weaver from the same place had created the unique Sri Ganeet saree that was worn by actress Vidya Balan.