A Dictionary of Silk In India

A Dictionary Of Silk In India

by Nesa Arumugam

In India, silk is considered to be auspicious. The Indian bride wraps herself in a silk saree. And where adversity does not allow this, brides have been known to wear a small token piece of silk on the wedding attire. The dead are cremated, where possible, in garments of silk. Silk is considered to be pleasing to the gods. “Silk is the holy cloth. It is what you wear if you want to touch God,” says Chhotalal Salvi, grand master of the Patola weaving family, the Salvis, of Gujarat. Silk is pleasing to the gods and confers beauty and comfort to human beings.

A Dictionary of Silk in India is for anyone who would like to know something of silk and silk weaving in India. While written in layman’s terms and style, the student of textile, too, may fi nd something of value here.

About the Author:-

Nesa Arumugam (aka Nesa Eliezer) has a deep and abiding love for Indian textiles. As a freelance writer, she has published more than 400 articles in magazines in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and India. Other books published: Recipes of the Jaffna Tamils, Cooking for Jey, A Tale of Two Journeys and The Meddling Monkey and Other Animal Tales. Also Silk Sarees of Tamil Nadu. She ran a Saree Shop (Ashwin Australia) from her home in Melbourne, Australia, for twenty years, importing the fi nest traditions of Indian silks. Her many stage productions included A Dream of the Drape, the story of the saree.