Bihar is famous for its silks. There are three varieties of silk produced and woven in the state: tassar, eri and mulberry silk. Bihar is the largest producer of tassar silk in India. It is in the Bhagalpur area that tussar silk-weaving is largely done. The shades produced are cream, light brown, beige, grey, camel colour, coffee, and gold tones. Handspun yarn is woven into high quality khadi cloth and, with the introduction of synthetic yarn, poly vastra khadi is woven. Bihar weavers also specialise in making textured white cloth.
Printing is done on cotton, wool, and silk and the centres are Bhagalpur, Bihar Sharif, Darbhanga, Saran, Patna, and Gaya. At Gaya, which is a pilgrimage centre, the textiles are religious in nature, with motifs of names and footprints of deities in ochre or red. The chunris of Bihar have motifs like peacocks, parrots, conches, mangoes, elephants, and fish, as well as large panels with traditional motifs of deities. The designs are all stylised in folk forms. Sursand in north Bihar has khari or printing done with mica; bright colours are used and the motifs include dots and stars.
Gallery
